November 2011 - Grace Full Mama

Simple Christ-Focused Christmas

November 30, 2011 By Joy

My ideas for Christmas may not be the most stellar, cute, or original, but they are Christmas traditions that work well for our family. I have found that simple is what gets done around here, so that is what we stick with!

I really like the simplicity and Christ-centeredness of our current traditions. And that is my goal….to make Christmas all about Christ!

The Advent Book. I love this book. Each day has a beautiful door for kids to open, revealing more of the story of Christ’s birth (word for word from the Bible). Since every day you begin at the beginning and continue until you open the new door, by Christmas Day the kids have all of Luke 2 memorized!

A Simple Advent Wreath. 4 white candles, each one representing a different part of the Christmas story, with a red candle in the center representing Christ. Thriving Family has an downloadable Advent Guide with readings and extra ideas on how to celebrate Advent in your family. Ann also has a beautiful free Jesse Tree download. Another GREAT resource is this ebook Truth in the Tinsel from Amanda, geared toward preschoolers…it looks so fun!

Advent Calendar. A sweet friend made one of these for us. A simple felt calendar with beautiful clay ornaments representing the daily Scripture, one for each day leading up to Christmas. Simple and special.

Shepherd’s Pouches. An idea I found in the book, Treasuring God in Our Traditions by Noel Piper. Each child gets a pouch in which to collect money to give to Jesus on Christmas Day. We are going to use our money to make gift boxes for the kids at the English Club we teach. It will be interesting to see how my kids come up with ways to make money. Since our children do not get an allowance, they have to be extra creative!

Birthday Party. On Christmas Day, we will celebrate Jesus’ birth by having cake, giving Him our Shepherd’s Pouches, and singing carols to Him!

I am looking forward to a Christmas season spent with my wonderful family and focusing on Him!

Yes, that is our tree in the picture above. Yes, we have a Christmas tree in the tropics, and yes, it’s fake. {grin}

I’m linking up here:

and Works for Me Wednesday
What are your favorite traditions? I would love to hear!

Filed Under: contentment, God's word, holidays, missionary life, mothering

35 Comments

Time for Blogging

November 28, 2011 By Joy

Last year, I quit blogging. Altogether. {At my former blog.}

And it was glorious. Beautiful. Relaxing. I had hours back I had never had before, and my stress level went way down. And then I felt the Lord guiding me to begin a new blog, one that would be a fresh, clean start. I wrestled and prayed about the idea for a few months, and finally said yes to the Lord. Thus, Grace Full Mama was born and launched.

However, as I came back to this world we call blog-land, I wanted to do it responsibly. Christin posted about the ebook, Simple Blogging, and I bought it right away. I came away from that book with a vision and a plan. A way for my blog to fit into my life, and not the other way around.

I made a plan for myself, guard rails, if you will.

First, here’s my vision and purpose:

To use my story and my words to bring glory to Jesus Christ, to use blogging as my way to make art for the glory of His name, and to encourage and inspire moms in their job of mothering.

And, vision for the way I blog:

To enjoy life and always put my family first.

I decided before I ever started that I would limit my online time severely, and that I would only post 3 -4 times a week. I made that commitment to myself ahead of time, because I know how easy it is to get sucked into the vortex of blogging and social media!

And my schedule is a nutshell is this:

Monday- Friday-

-30 minutes in early AM to check Facebook, Twitter, comments, and email

-1 hour during kids rest time to work on editing posts {Thursday I have 1 hour 30 minutes cause older kids are at music class}

-10 minutes at night to do Facebook and Twitter {since it’s AM in the States}

Saturday morning-

-3 hours to write all posts for the upcoming week, including guest posts, etc. {my hubby works on Saturdays, and so I have someone who watches my kiddos during this time} The deal with the kids is that if I can have these 3 hours in the early AM to get my blog work done, then the rest of the day is theirs and we all go do something fun.

Sundays-

off completely

Now, this might seem like a lot, but it goes by quick. I have to be very intentional to fit in all that I need to accomplish in this time. But I wouldn’t want it any other way.

The other thing that I have done is enlist another blogger to keep me accountable. We email each other our schedule about once a week. Knowing that someone will be asking helps keep my computer time in check!

Dear, sweet Laura Booz has written an excellent ebook on this very topic, Blogger Behave, and I highly recommend you get a hold of it. She lays out some really practical ideas on how to love your life and blogging. I came away from it challenged, refreshed, and excited. I am sure you will as well. Here is the seriously adorable video she made for her book:

Email readers click here to see the video.

I am excited because all this week Laura will be doing a series at Sarah Mae’s blog on this very topic:
I hope you will join in!

Do you have limits for yourself and the computer? What are they? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Filed Under: contentment, God's word, mothering

49 Comments

Happy Thanksgiving!

November 24, 2011 By Joy

Source: suziebeezie.tumblr.com via Joy on Pinterest

I hope and pray that your day will be filled with peace, rest, and thankfulness to the One who has blessed us abundantly! And I hope that you get to eat lots of good food too!

Filed Under: holidays

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Sisterhood….Comparison

November 23, 2011 By Joy

Source: elembee.com via Joy on Pinterest

So, we’ve talked about the call to sisterhood, embracing who God has made you to be, learning to get real with one another, accepting the differences of others, and then how we need to encourage one another as sisters.

And here comes the doozy….

In order to build a true sisterhood of Christian unity, we REALLY need to stop comparing ourselves with others. Seriously.

Each one of us is an important part of the body of Christ. Each person adds something beautiful. Let’s join our individual songs together…all of us together in unity and praise of our glorious Father.

Don’t let comparison steal your joy.

What is your thing? What has the Lord put into your life that drives you? Whatever it is that the Lord has given YOU to do, do that well, and relax and enjoy it! Do it well, and do it for the glory of God.

And don’t compare the results of your work with another. And for bloggers, in God’s economy there are no subscriber numbers, no page views, and no follower numbers.

“For the body is not one member, but many. If the foot says, “Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body,’ and if the ear says, ‘because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body,’ is it not for this reason and less the part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But now, God has placed the members, each one of them in the body, just as He desired.” 1 Corinthians 12:14

And, here is where I get really honest. Last year, I was asked to speak at the Relevant conference as one of the speakers. I was flattered and humbled and I said yes. That was when I blogged at The Stay at Home Missionary. I was excited and nervous and slightly overwhelmed. Then, when all of the speakers were announced, and I found my name among them, I was terrified. I looked at the list and felt overwhelmed and small. It seemed that nearly everyone had a book published, had a ginormous following, and I felt small. I’m not saying this was right, but it is honest.

I let comparison steal the joy of my being asked to speak. It ate me up so much that I ended up backing out of speaking and eventually quit my blog all together. Me, measuring myself, comparing myself to others, instead of what God had called me to do.

Well, you know the rest of the story. I think God has quite a sense of humor, because not only did He have me go back and speak at the Relevant conference, but as a keynote!

God has made each one of us with a specific purpose. Are you going to fulfill the purpose He has for you by following His lead? Will you use your gifts, talents, and stories for His glory?

I am, how about you?

Check back next week for the conclusion of this series….the last bit makes me cry every time.

{This series is a slightly edited version of the keynote I gave at the Relevant conference. If you would like to listen to the audio of that session, you can download it here.}
Here is a list of the previous posts in the series:

1. The Call

2.Embrace

3.Get Real

4.Accepting Differences

5. Encourage

I’m linking up here:

Filed Under: contentment, friendship, God's word, sisterhood

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A Mom Heart and a Giveaway!

November 21, 2011 By Joy

******THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED*******

As I mentioned last week, one of my biggest highlights of traveling to Relevant {and let’s just be honest, a big highlight of my lifetime} was having the opportunity to meet and spend time with dear, sweet Sally Clarkson.

Shortly after my first child was born (11 1/2 years ago) I received her book, The Mission of Motherhood, and it {along with the Holy Spirit} changed the entire course of my life as a mom. I saw my parenting as a mission, not one to be taken lightly, and I realized that I wanted to be a fully intentional mother, training and discipling my children for the Lord and His glory. I then read many of her books and loved each one: The Ministry of Motherhood, Seasons of a Mother’s Heart, and Educating the WholeHearted Child 1st Edition {which gave me a vision for homeschooling}.

So, I was beyond thrilled to meet face to face one of my heroes of the faith and a lady I consider to be a mentor to me, through her books, these many years.

I attended an early morning mom’s tea she hosted, and my mama heart was filled. As we left, she told each of us to pick up one her books of our choosing for free….so I made a beeline for the brand-new and improved version of Educating the WholeHearted Child written by both Clay and Sally! Woohoo! I started reading it on the airplane ride back and haven’t been able to put it down since.

{This picture is in the airport, enjoying my very last Diet Coke….sigh}

Since coming home, my journal is full to capacity with quotes, wisdom, and instruction from this incredible homeschool book!

Just one little tidbit from the book I’ve been mulling over…

P-pray for your children regularly

A-accept your children unconditionally

T-teach and train your children diligently.

H-honor your children purposefully.

I’m only part way in, and I am completely enamored with this book. Even if you are not a homeschool mama, I highly recommend getting this book to use in the training and instruction of your kids!

One other thing I want to mention to you is Sally’s upcoming Mom Heart Conferences. The title is, The HeartShaping Mom- How to Open, Fill, and Hold Your Child’s Heart. Doesn’t that sound amazing?! I am sad that I don’t live in the States, or you can bet that I’d be at one of them!! I encourage you, if you are a mom who wants to be more intentional in your mothering to do whatever you can to attend one of these conferences!

And now, I want to offer you a chance to win a copy of Educating the WholeHearted Child. I have 3 copies to give away and entering is simple, just leave a comment! {giveaway is limited to US residents only, and giveaway will end on Monday, the 27th at 11pmEST}

{just so you know, it probably sounds like I’m an advertising fool for Sally Clarkson. She didn’t ask me to do this, and other than giving me 3 books to giveaway, I received nothing for this. I just really believe in her heart, her message, and her walk with the Lord, and I feel like mamas need to know!}

Filed Under: friendship, God's word, mothering

359 Comments

Thankful Things

November 19, 2011 By Joy

This weekend, as we sweat it out in the tropics, the kids and I are attempting to make it feel like fall.

As we practice eucharisteo together right where we are…..

we will be making one of these…..

Source: simplyvintagegirl.com via Joy on Pinterest

Printing some of these…..

Source: kindovermatter.com via Joy on Pinterest

making some of these……

Source: blogs.babble.com via Joy on Pinterest

and using this….

(you can get your free copy at Comfy in the Kitchen!)

What are you up to this weekend?

Filed Under: mothering, recipes, Uncategorized, weekend links

12 Comments

The Glorious in the Mundane

November 18, 2011 By Joy

It’s difficult to find some days, the glorious in the midst of the mundane-ness of life. To look above the chaos, the mess, the need, and the exhaustion.

But I don’t want to miss it. I want to find that glorious in the everyday, the usual, yes, the mundane.

I don’t want to ignore the insatiable curiosity of two mischievous little boys…..

“..to make it your ambition and definitely endeavor to live quietly and peacefully, to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we have charged you.” 1 Thessalonians 4:11

I don’t want to be too caught up in my own tasks to show respect and love to that ruggedly handsome pilot that makes my heart beat faster whenever he comes near….

“By walking away from a busy, accomplishment-oriented society into a quiet world of deep relationship, service, and home-life, I will establish a far-reaching legacy that extends throughout many generations.” -Laura Booz, Blogger Behave

I don’t want to dismiss the wonder that is in a 7-year old’s face as he sees the beauty in the world all around him….

“It is shown with the sacrificial life of giving up what we wanted to do, or the job we hoped to have, in order to build a soul through the attention of ourselves. A looking into the eyes with true interest and compassion instead of looking at a screen while half-heartedly listening. These are the sacrifices of our love, the moment-by-momet giving up of ourselves, the constant year in-year out practice of worship as we serve those in our home in order to please His heart.” - Sally Clarkson

I don’t want to be too tired, too busy, too occupied, too annoyed to answer the never-ending questions from a darling young lady …

“It’s not hard to decide what you want your life to be about. What’s hard is figuring out what you are willing to give up in order to do the things you really care about.” Shauna Niequist

I don’t want to miss the chance to build into the boy becoming a man as he gets ready to spread his wings and fly…

“Your loving touch, patient service, sacrifice of time today, this week, is not in vain. It is a service of worship to the One who laid down His own life in moments of time.” – Sally Clarkson

I want to stay focused on these beautiful faces, the precious ones that the Lord has put together with me under my roof, to love on, cherish, embrace, and invest in. I want to be present. I want to be all here.

“Live slowly and simply so that you have the time and the space to love deeply and well. Hold your children close, as often as possible. Look deeply into their eyes, speak words of life, love, and acceptance into and over them.” -Jewels

So I will continue to look, to see, to find, the glorious in the mundane right here.

Do you want to join me? What is it that you don’t want to miss?

Photo Credit: Dave Forney and Tripp Flythe

Filed Under: contentment, God's word, mothering

50 Comments

Sisterhood….Encourage

November 16, 2011 By Joy

After we begin to accept the differences in others, we need to come alongside of one another and encourage one another. We need to be willing to reach out and speak love to one another.

Ephesians 5:19-21, “speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord: always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father, and be subject to one another in the fear of Christ.”

I have seen this happen so many times, sisters encouraging sisters, and it is a beautiful thing. But what if we stepped it up a notch? What if we as a group of women actively pursued encouraging and promoting one another? Look around and ask yourself, Who could use a little encouragement? A little help? A little boost? Maybe there is someone who is struggling and we are so busy taking care of ourselves that we cannot even see it. “Let us not look only to our own interests but also to the interests of others.” Stef wrote a great post on this very topic!

In the blog world, what if, rather than focusing on our ourselves, our blog, our numbers, we go about the business of promoting others? Their blogs, their posts, their endeavors? And when others “succeed”, what if we truly rejoice with them?

While I was at the Relevant conference I was overwhelmed to receive a package from some of my friends and co-workers in Indonesia. They had taken the time to write me encouraging letters to be given to me on the day of my keynote (and mailed them all the way to the US prior to me going to speak!).

Talk about rejoicing with someone else. I am sure that they would have gladly traded me places and enjoyed some beautiful fellowship at the Relevant conference instead of staying in Indonesia and helped watch my kids…but no, they chose to rejoice with me and encourage me. That is a beautiful picture of true sisterhood….wow!

And this beautiful sign arrived for me at the hotel at Relevant.

Monica from The Homespun Heart saw something I had pinned on Pinterest and made it for me to encourage me on the day I was speaking! Now, Monica and I have never met in real life, but she is a true picture of a dear blog encourager.

So I want to challenge you:

Who can you reach out and encourage today?

Here are the previous posts in this series:

Sisterhood…The Call

Sisterhood…Embrace

Sisterhood….Get Real

Sisterhood…Accepting Differences

If this post has encouraged you, might you be willing to share it with a friend and encourage them as well? I’d love to have you subscribe and join me here every day!

Filed Under: friendship, God's word, missionary life, sisterhood

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I Saw Jesus at Relevant

November 14, 2011 By Joy

Last week I shared a little about my Relevant experience, and now I want to share some more! Warning: It is LOONNGG!

I saw Jesus everywhere at the Relevant conference. I left wanting to know Him more. He was shining through so many beautiful women. I could feel His presence as I spoke to so many dear, dear ladies.

I’ll start with my roommates….we had two rooms that were adjoining, so there were six of us all together! Janelle is the dearest, sweetest person I have ever met. She really does shine Jesus! Darlene has a beautiful heart to serve and was ALWAYS ready to help anyone with anything. Love that!

Clare from Peak313 is WAY more than just healthy living and fitness instructor. This girl spoke truth, encouraged me, and made me laugh a LOT!

Ruth from The Better Mom holds a special place in my heart. We were college roommates, we were there when we each met our husbands, we were in each other’s weddings! And, now, to see her so passionate about serving the Lord is breath-taking!

Courtney is a just as joyful and on-fire for the Lord as she comes across on her blog. I was inspired and encouraged by her!!

{Please forgive the silliness!} Dana and Jessica were amazing and fun conference hosstesses and I appreciated the time I was able to spend with them.

Sarah Mae is just the most beautiful person you will ever meet. I flew in a day early and spent the night and a day at her house with her and her precious kiddos. She oozed Jesus….whether she is playing with her kids, frying up some bacon, making a vlog with me, or hostessing a huge conference, Jesus is in the midst of it! Photo credit: Darcy

My fellow contributors at The Better Mom: Sally, Christin, Denise, Jamerrill, Angela, Brooke, Lara, Clare, Courtney, Janelle, and the mastermind, Ruth. All beautiful ladies that shine for HIM!

Beautiful and sweet-spirited Katie.

Some of my very favorite ladies, each has changed my life in different ways, and spending time with them was TRULY incredible. Tsh, Kat, and Emily

Ah, Kristen. Jesus in her touched me deeply during the weekend. Every time I saw her, she had kind words of encouragement, a hug, and a gorgeous smile. {my nose is all red from crying….it was a common theme}

Beauftiful Deidra that just shines His love…. {again the red nose}

Melissa, whose quiet elegance and dignity shines Him…

Sweet Erika. humility, beauty, radiance, peace permeate from her…..

Christine, one of my longest running blog friends, and such a dear. I love her heart, her wisdom, and her honesty…..{This was taken the last morning, and I was so tired I literally couldn’t be bothered to brush the hair out of my face!}

Jen and Stephanie. Real, fun, interesting women. I could talk to them all night! I had such fun getting to know Jen and little and Stephanie on several occasions. Beautiful…..

Crystal! Oh how I wish I could live in the same town. I felt like I instantly connected with her, and would have loved an entire weekend to chat just with her. She is hard-working, a visionary, and following hard after Christ in her life…..

All the beautiful ladies that made up the Relevant ’11 speaker team. Dear, dear sisters each one portraying Christ in their own beautiful way. I was touched, inspired, and the better for knowing each one. Sally, me, Laura, Amy Lynn, Lisa-Jo, Ann, Shelley, Cour tney, Emily, Tsh, Stephanie, Crystal, Sarah Mae, Dana, Jessica, Serena (and missing from this photo the beautiful Sara Sophia and Sarah Markley). Photo credit: Darcy

What to say about Sally? She has been a hero of the faith to me ever since I read her first book 11 years ago. It was surreal to meet her and spend time with her. She invited me to her hotel room on the evening before the conference started and we sipped coffee from real china she had brought, ate chocolate cake to candlelight, and she fed my soul. This tired mama missionary heart is FOREVER grateful for the way she took me in and ministered to me, and continues to minister to my heart. Truly God-given, time spent that I will never, ever forget.

And Ann. As she took my face in her hands and spoke words of life into my soul, I honestly felt as though I was meeting Jesus. He is so ALL-OVER her, it spills out everywhere. To have those precious moments alone with Ann is something I will treasure forever. I could only cry and nod and praise His name. Photo credit: Darcy

Kimba {just sitting on the floor in the hallway visiting was so fun!}, Jolanthe {oh wow, she is amazing}, Carisa {a kindred}, Stef {just as fun in real life}, Stacey {totally could be my sister}, Logan {she made me laugh with her funny antics, then made me cry with a sweet letter she wrote me…what a jewel}, Angie {a real life friend who put up with sharing me}, Ali { a dear, brave, sweet spirit}, Kristi {never met anyone with more passion}, Erin, Darlene {gorgeous with a heart of gold!}, Melissa {one of my favorite people I met…I just love her!}, Lisa, Terri Lynne, Kristen, Myra, Amanda and SO many more, I could keep going and going…..

Jesus was everywhere and I had the privilege to walk amongst these women who held them in their heart and shined them on their faces.

Filed Under: friendship, God's word

53 Comments

Snapshot

November 13, 2011 By Joy

Our typical Sunday lunch. Chicken, rice, eggplant, tempeh, and basil all wrapped in a banana leaf and placed in brown paper for the equivalent of US $2. It’s our Indonesian fast food.

What are you eating for Sunday lunch?

Enjoy your Sunday, friends!

Photo, as always (if they are good): Dave Forney

Filed Under: missionary life

26 Comments