Grace Full Mama

Because He Loves Me {Spring 2013 Book Study}

January 17, 2013 By Joy

“In your pursuit of godliness, have you left Jesus behind?“- Elyse Fitzpatrick

Because He Loves Me is one of the very best books I have read. This book transformed my heart and my thinking where it had strayed away from the Gospel. It was a rude awakening, but one I needed desperately. I needed the Gospel desperately. I know that sounds funny from someone who has been a believer in the Gospel since childhood, but it’s true.

“If we’re not completely convinced that his love is our right now– fully and unalterably ours– we’ll always hide in the shadows, focusing on our performance, fearing his wrath. Prayer will be hard because we won’t want to approach him or be transparent before him. Witnessing will be a chore, for who would want to talk to others about a god who is demanding, angry, or cold? If we don’t consciously live in the light of his love, the gospel will be secondary, virtually meaningless, and Jesus Christ will fade into insignificance. Our faith will become all about us, our performance, and how we think we’re doing, and our transformation will be hindered.” -Elyse Fitzpatrick, Because He Loves Me

And so, Ruth from GraceLaced and I will be hosting a book study beginning on Wednesday, January 30th, and continuing every Wednesday for the following 12 weeks!

Care to join us? We would love to have you!

Here is what you need to do:

1. Purchase the book. You can get it here or the Kindle version here. {I have both. blush}

2. Read the intro and Chapter 1 by January 30th. If you have a blog, you can blog about your thoughts and link-up on the 30th!

Grab a button if you are joining us:

Ruth writes about the purpose of this book study:

“My hope here is two-fold…I long to see each of us for us encouraged and accountable through a study of a fantastic book. I also seek to encourage you to make the most of your blog or online presence for the encouragement of others as you document your thoughts and discoveries through this study. I truly believe that GraceLaced exists FOR Christ, and FOR his grace and goodness to be seen and known. Reading this book together is one way we can be a part of that very thing.“

And that is why I blog here at Grace Full Mama as well. I hope you will join us on this journey!

If you are joining us, won’t you let us know in the comments?

*a big thank you to Ruth for the beautiful graphics!*

Filed Under: Uncategorized

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Redeeming Childbirth- Wonderful Resource!

January 17, 2013 By Joy

Angie Tolpin and I met when both of our oldest children were just 6 weeks old. We connected deeply from that moment, and have been dear friends since. I’ll admit when she told me she was writing a book on childbirth, I cringed. Not because of her! Not at all. But, you see, childbirth is a touchy subject for me. I have been inadvertently stung by words of those who have had “normal” or “natural” births, feeling that I was somehow less than.

I have had 4 C-sections. Because of an aneurism in my brain, normal or natural childbirth was never an option for me. Before I ever got pregnant, I knew I would always need to go the C-section route. Also? During my C-sections, I didn’t feel very spiritual. Oh, I did pray. A lot. But my prayers went something like this, “Lord, please, please, please don’t let me die on the operating table. Don’t let my aneurism explode or let me hemorrhage or anything else. Please let my baby {or babies} be healthy. Please Lord.”

So I figured because of these two things, this book was not for me. I was so wrong! In fact, I needed this message so much.

Angie has written a beautiful book on bringing in the Lord into your pregnancy, birth, and mothering experience with the intent of uniting women around this topic. What a breath of fresh air!

With wisdom, grace, humility, and enthusiasm, Angie guides a mother-to-be to glorify the Lord through the hard times, through the beauty and the pain. This book is a gift, and I pray that you will love it and be blessed by it! {Just so you know, I have not finished reading the book yet, but I fully trust and love Angie, so I know I can recommend it!}

Go here to purchase your copy!

Growth & Study Guide

Also, since this week is launch week for the book, there are some great giveaways, including an iPad mini! Go here to see the great giveaways and to download the free Growth and Study Guide!

I pray, along with Angie, that you will be blessed, encouraged, and strengthened by this message.

Filed Under: God's word, mothering

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Free E-book- Cultivating a Heart for Motherhood

January 16, 2013 By Joy

I am really excited to give you a special gift, a free e-book, Cultivating a Heart for Motherhood!

This ebook is filled with encouragement for mothers, biblical wisdom, practical helps, and several print outs to help you on your journey of mothering well. This book is for every mother who needs vision, encouragement, and a breath of fresh air breathed into their mothering!

It is full of wisdom I have gleaned from my own experience, from my study of the Bible, and from drawing on the wisdom of godly mentors who have gone before me.

I hope and pray that this ebook will help you feel encouraged, empowered, and fulfilled in your job as a mom. There are devotions and simple challenges peppered throughout to help you solidify what you read. Here is a screenshot of some of what you will find inside:

I am so thankful for all of you, my faithful readers, so this is my gift to you, my dear subscribers!

Here is how you get the ebook:

1.Take a moment to subscribe to Grace Full Mama, if you have not already done so. You can also just enter your email address here:

2. Check your email and confirm your subscription.

3. When a new post comes to your feed or email, you will find the link at the very bottom of that {and all} posts. Here is where you will find the link for the ebook. See the circle and the arrow at the bottom:

*If the link does not work for you, please email me at thegracefullmama @ gmail dot com and I will send you the direct link!*

4. Be patient, it takes a few moments to download!

5. That’s it! Enjoy! Questions? Feel free to email with questions!

Filed Under: Books, giveaways, mothering

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Planning for Refreshment- Refresh Your Soul Week 2

January 15, 2013 By Joy

* I wrote this post before I knew what Sarah Mae was writing on. It is interesting how similar our thoughts are on this subject!*

Let me pray for us as we begin….

Lord, we are weary. We have tried, sadly, for too long to do life on our own. We choose now to abide in Your love, Your arms, Your truth. Refresh our souls as only You can. We wait expectantly for You. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, that yields it’s fruit in season, and it’s leaf does not wither. We give You this year, our time, our schedules, our selves. Use them for Your glory and show us Your will in our lives. Amen.

The Lord will guide you always. He will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.” Isaiah 58:11

Last week we talked about refreshing yourself by letting some things go and making time to rest and enjoy life. Now, I want to take it a step further. We need to plan to be refreshed. Not just once, but on an ongoing basis.

We need to schedule in time to drink deeply from the well that is the Lord and find things that truly refresh our soul, instead of settling for what feels good in the moment but in the end leaves us feeling depleted. As I mentioned last week, habits of constant internet clicking, mindless eating, shopping {online or otherwise}, TV watching that is mindless instead of planned are some of these things.

Here is what I am saying. Plan for a little refreshment every day, every week, and a little something extra once a month or whenever you can swing it.

Here is what works for me. I wake up early early so I can have quiet, with my coffee and my Bible, uninterrupted for an hour. In the afternoon, I take a nap for 30 minutes and then I read for 30 minutes {the twins listen to a book on the ipod}.

In the evening, I get into bed by 8:30 and spend a few quiet moments reflecting on my day. Then I read a relaxing book with a cup of Good Earth tea {my favorite!} in my special mug before lights out at 9. Should everyone have this schedule?! Of course not! My husband flies early so we get up at 4:30am, thus necessitating an early bedtime.

In addition to this, every few months I take a little vacation to the local hotel here in town. It is nothing special, but for 24 hours, I have quiet and air conditioning, which are hard to come by here. I take some music, candles, coffee, Bible, a book I am reading, and sometimes a special movie. I spend the afternoon resting and praying, the evening watching my movie and getting a good night’s sleep, and the morning before I go home, some time in the Word. This is what works for me and my family. Dave gladly sends me, because he doesn’t mind keeping the kids, and it actually helps him because I come back refreshed!

At one time I felt guilty for taking these times to refresh, feeling like I should be filling my time with more important things, giving my time and money to those that need it more desperately. However, I have learned taking care of myself and my relationship with the Lord is the most important thing. Christians these days have gotten things a bit turned around.

We are running around serving the Lord, without actually spending time with Him, ministering to Him or hearing from Him. Jesus frequently took time away from His ministry to be alone with the Lord.

As for me, I want to serve faithfully until the very end, so that means taking a little respite along the way. Otherwise I burn out.

I want this to be true of me… “{S}He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither.” Psalm 1:3

Find what works for you. Talk it over with those close to you, and figure out a plan of how to make it happen. I am already picturing a host of comments with a bunch of “yes buts”…. “we don’t have the money, my husband would never watch the kids, I don’t like to be alone,” etc.

My plan does not need to be your plan.

YOU come up with your plan with your family and the Lord, and then make it happen. Could you trade babysitting with a friend one morning a week? Could your hire someone to watch your kids while you take a nap? Could you ask a loved one to have your kids for a playdate once a week or once a month to give you some time to rest?

My challenge to you: Think about how you can plan for some refreshment in your day, your week, and your month. Pray over your plan and see what you can do to make it happen!

Filed Under: mothering, Refresh Your Soul

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Abide In Me-Refresh Your Soul Week 2

January 14, 2013 By Joy

“I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5

We are refreshed when we abide.

What does that even mean? Simply this: tenaciously clinging to Him. In the moments you feel like giving up, you want to crawl back under the covers and wish the day away, you want to “numb out” sitting in front of the computer, fill the pain with food, or watch TV, He calls, quietly, “Abide in Me.”

It is in our own strength we fall.

Our BEST as women is when we are holding fast, holding desperately, to Him.

When we realize how poor we are, we can come before Him and ask Him to fill us, refresh us, give us something to pour out onto the precious people we love.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:3

When we mess up, we shouldn’t berate ourselves for the sin we committed, the angry word spoken, the rolling of the eyes, the exhausted sigh. That’s not the root problem. The root problem is: we departed from the Source of true life, presuming we could manage on our own.

Instead of feeling bad about failure, instead of voicing our grief in this way, “Sorry Lord I messed up, I’ll do better next time“, what we must say is, “Sorry Lord I left your side. Help ME!”

The most spiritual prayer for ourselves we can pray is two words, “help me.”

The problem isn’t failure, but instead, failure to rely on the Source of refreshment.

We should be compelled to come to the Lord desperate for His power and work in our lives, to refresh our souls, begging Him to give us what we lack. Choosing moment by moment to trust in His unfailing love and resting in His power for each decision, each word spoken, each task completed. We can do it on our own for a while, but in the end we feel exhausted, stressed, and depleted.

Andrew Murray speaks to this in his book, Abide with Christ, “…unspeakable danger of our giving ourselves to work for God, and to bear fruit, with but little of the true abiding, the wholehearted losing of ourselves in Christ and His life.”

He gives to the hungry, the poured out, the poor in spirit.

He gives.

Live in the truth of your “poorness”, don’t pretend it is anything else than what it is, give up the illusion of your own strength.

Begin today, this moment, to say this, “In this moment of exhaustion, of weariness, I cleave to You. Help Me!”

I am slowly learning to do this moment by moment in my day, and it, HE, is making all the difference.

Thoughts?

Filed Under: God's word, mothering, Refresh Your Soul

34 Comments

Do You Wish You Had a Pause Button on Your Life?

January 11, 2013 By Joy

Today’s post is a guest post by Sarah Mae.

Do you ever wish you could pause your life just long enough to catch up with it?

The other day I woke up and thought, “if I could just magically make everyone sleep for a month I could catch up on the cleaning, my to-do lists, and my life.” I want to get everything in order, and then take time for my soul. I need to figure out my life, my next steps, and begin…all why everyone sleeps so their are no distractions or interruptions.

I need a big, fat, PAUSE button on life.

Can anyone relate?

Well, since I can’t have one (boo), I have decided to create my own pauses amid the distractions and normalties of life. I shall do this by choosing to own my life (as Sally Clarkson says), and be active in the life I want to live.

And why not? I’ve only got one shot at this life gig, so I sure as heck don’t want to waste it. I want to live fully alive! I want to figure out how to enjoy my children (because I don’t always). I want to wonder, and be inspired, and open my eyes to the whole world. I want to embrace the mundane and the hard. I want to live true and honest and willing.

So I will.

“It is nothing to die. It is frightful not to live.” -Victor Hugo

Want to join me? Here are a few ways we can choose to live:

Figure Out What Gives You Life, and What Drains It

Living full and open-eyed isn’t about living selfish. Truly living is about figuring out how to thrive even in the mundane; how to live so as to take in and find the pleasure in the hidden, the life in the loss, and the truth in the every of days. One way we can do this is by figuring out what drains our life and what fills it. For example, I could say my kids drain my life, but that would be looking at life through a speckled lens. Instead, I could say that my the days I sit home and avoid my children while my guilt racks up points drains me, but what gives me life is choosing to go on an adventure with them and enter into their worlds and see through their innocent eyes and their full of wonder spirits.

Do you see the difference? It’s perspective.

However, there are truly draining things in life that we should not feel guilty for giving up. Is there something you are doing, volunteering for, or leading that is stealing the joy you have in other areas of your life? What if you dropped one thing you were doing, and in dropping that one thing your body and your mind were freed up, just enough that you could enjoy your family more?

What if you did a hard thing, like serving someone else, but it filled you because you were realized that you gave life another in the serving? But of course you can’t live outside yourself if you’re doing too much for yourself.

Which brings us to the question, what makes you happy? In the deepest part of your being, who do you want to be? What fills you up? What makes you come alive?

Think on these things, and figure out what will fill your soul and what will drain it. Un-muddy your perspective by thinking outside the lens and see what you can come up with.

Evaluate Your Free Time

I have wasted hours of my life on nothing at all. And sometimes that’s okay, but the wasted hours add up to dim, boring, unfruitful life. How un-interesting! This morning I went to Starbucks, and sitting outside was a man smoking a cigarette and reading a book. It was 30 degrees out. I could see his breath in the air. I said, “is this some form of self-torture?” And he replied, “No, it’s actually not that bad.”

I found him completely interesting.

He was living off the grid of normal. He was doing something different, and I liked it. And I thought about the cold wrapping around his head, and the freshness of the chill that perhaps made him feel alive. Or maybe he just wanted to smoke. Either way, it made me want to experience life.

Strange, I know, but it did, and sometimes it’s just those little things. The feel of the cold on your skin, the numb of your fingers, the air in your lungs. It’s all a gift, and I want to feel it.

What are you doing in your free time to feel life? You could read a classic, or go on a walk in the snow, or blast a musical, or watch the flame in a candle, or write or sing or do something out of the ordinary.

Do something, feel something!

Come alive in the hours, in the moments that are offered to you in between the “have-to-do” hours.

“What you do today is important because you are exchanging a day of your life for it.” -Anonymous

Get Help

I just hired a friend to clean my house once a week while I go grocery shopping.

I know many of you don’t have the money to do that, I didn’t for years, but I also never prioritized having someone help me. I never thought that if I cut my cable and not have TV (except for the function of playing movies) that I could afford help. I never thought that if spent $40 less on groceries a week, I could have help. I never thought like that because having help seemed like a luxury (and for many it is). So maybe you absolutely don’t have the money to hire someone to help you with your housework, but perhaps you could barter with someone – they clean your home once a week, and you do whatever it is that you do, for them.

Listen, I understand that many won’t like this suggestion because of the stigma that getting help is either only for the weak or only for the rich. I reject both of those notions. First, so what if you’re weak in the area of cleaning? If you are, accept it and make adjustments the best you can. As far as help being only for the rich? Yes, some people absolutely cannot fit it in their budget (boy do I know how that feels), but some of us want to, but haven’t really thought about ways we could make it happen. I’m saying, just think about it. Could you find other areas to cut spending in order to get some help? Do you have a special skill you could trade in order to have help?

Again, just think about it.

Get Perspective From an Older Woman

Have you ever experienced something that seems so important and intense at night, and then morning comes and the thing doesn’t seem as dyer? This is how I feel about perspective. Perspective is a grand thing, and it generally comes from those who have lived much of life and have gone through the ups and downs of the human experience. They are like the morning, they see things clearly and in the light. I love talking with my mentor because she is able to calm me down and bring things into focus. She asks me great questions that help me think through whatever issue I’ve brought up, and she doesn’t get as worked up about things as I do. I understand that not all older women have a wise perspective, but many do, and it’s worth finding an older women to talk with regularly, as you will gain great perspective on the happenings of life.

Own Your Life

I struggle with discontentment. I long to be in other places, to live another life, to explore and get lost in art and music and deep conversation. At least once every few months I go to a dark place where I feel trapped with my life. I have to be super intentional about coming out of that place, by being careful what music I listen to, to what I think, to how I pray. I have learned that to be content in my life and to enjoy it, I must first accept it. I need to accept exactly where I am, and then choose to own my life right where I’m at. I am responsible for creating beauty and adventure in my life; I am responsible for filling my soul. I want my heart to be captivated by the wonder of the world, but I can’t do that when I’m sitting around sulking about all that I can’t do with my life. I must get up, go out, and live…kids in tow! Sally has taught me that a wise woman owns her life, and I have come to see how very true that is. My longings will never be fulfilled on this earth, because deep down inside, the groanings are for heaven.

Accept your life, own it, fill your soul with beauty and adventure, and lean into the hope that one day, if you know Him, your heart will be filled with the fullness of heaven.

…

By Sarah Mae, SarahMae.com

Psst… Sarah Mae’s book, Desperate – Hope for the Mom Who Needs to Breathe (Thomas Nelson), was released this week! The book was written for those who have ever whispered, “I just can’t be a mom today.” From the perspective of a mom in the middle of the little years and the perspective of a mom who has raised her children well, you will find encouragement, practical help, Q & A with Sally Clarkson, and videos at the end of each chapter of Sarah Mae and Sally discussing the chapter. Find it wherever books are sold (and check out the amazing gifts and giveaways happening this week!).

“I hold these pages, words of Sarah Mae’s and Sally’s, that are a gift to every mother, that welcome mothers everywhere out of hiding and loneliness and into a fellowship of sisters and mentors, that will make you feel not alone, that will make you feel that there is real God-given hope.” -Ann Voskamp, New York Timesbest-selling author of One Thousand Gifts

Filed Under: Uncategorized

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Beginning With Intention

January 9, 2013 By Joy

The new year begins as it always does; crisp and new, free from mistakes, full of possibility. Imaginations run wild. Will this be the year? Will we finally make that change? Will we stick with our goals and finally do that thing we have always wanted to do?

As the swirl of lists circulate and goals are set and promises made, I want to encourage you to stop.

I’m sharing more thoughts on living intentionally and creating space to breathe today at MomHeart! I hope you will join me there!

Filed Under: God's word, mothering

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Refresh Your Soul Week 1- Creating Space to Breathe

January 8, 2013 By Joy

Take a deep breath. Now another one.

What word or words do you want to describe your life, this year, this week, this day? Joyful, Peaceful, Refreshed, Intentional, Simple.

It is time. It is time for you and I to place our flag in the ground. It is time to stop living at break-neck speed. Time to stop rushing from one thing to the next, filling up our free space with mindless distractions like the Internet, phones, and TV, which leave us feeling depleted instead of refreshed.

If you are a mom like me, we still have a lot of the race left to run.We still have to finish raising our kids, and so we need to look at our lives as a marathon instead of a sprint. I don’t know your personality, but I know mine. I hate to say no to people, so I often say yes to something, then I get overwhelmed by all I have to do, and end up going back and renigging on my commitment. I am working on it.

I am learning to say no. My life often has many unexpected interruptions, people stopping by, needing something, a last minute visit from a neighbor or a friend. I am guessing yours might too? So I need to learn to say no to a lot of planned things so I have space to enjoy the interruptions in my day instead of feeling overwhelmed and stressed out.

What things in your life are just fillers? There is a difference between having a busy life and having a full life. A full life is one you choose intentionally what things you are going to put in, life-giving things, things that you truly feel called by God to do.

The busy things are those fillers that you feel like you should do, have to do to look good, want to do, but don’t fit in your season of life. And the other kind of filler is the one you use as an escape—the internet, iphone, endless tv watching, or maybe even mindless eating.

For me, as I look at how I have been spending my time, there are several commitments I am pulling back on. In addition to those, the fillers I have allowed into my life are a 30-45 minute mindless Facebook and internet checking with my coffee in the morning, letting the wind take me wherever it will, and watching a TV show with Dave each night. Are these things wrong? Nope. But I need some space to breathe, and my soul isn’t filled by these things. I want to fill my time intentionally {not to the max} and have time in my day to ponder and talk with God, read quietly, and engage in conversation with my family. So, mindless internet surfing is going in favor of a scheduled block of time to work on my blog, update Facebook, and answer emails. TV watching is now limited to Friday and Saturday nights, when we can enjoy it, and not worry about staying up too late.

Just these small changes make me smile. I have peace in my heart knowing I have space to breathe. It gives me a lightness to my step and helps me de-clutter my mind and my day.

This week I want you to consider these challenges:

-Declutter your life by praying about something in your life that needs to go. Let it go without guilt or reservation. Smile at how much better you feel.

-Turn off the “feeds” early. Stop eating, stop watching, stop clicking earlier than you usually do. Snuggle into bed a little earlier than usual.

-Anyway you work it, I highly recommend if at all possible to wake up at least 30 minutes before your kids. Really. I’m not tyring to be mean, but I have seen such a huge difference in my attitude just from waking up earlier than my kids. You can do it! Spend some time in the Word first thing, filling up your mind and refreshing your heart. {Good Morning Girls is a great resource for your quiet time!}

*If you are a nursing mama, and aren’t getting enough sleep to begin with, don’t beat yourself up! Try writing out a few verses on some cards that you can meditate on anytime day or night. Grab your sleep when you can!*

-Do NOT underestimate the power of the nap. Guilty, you say? Get over it! I still take a 30 minute nap every single day and my youngest are 5! Institute quiet time, play a book on your ipod for non-nappers, or even give the kiddos a movie to watch. Whatever it takes for you to get some rest.

-Do something nice for yourself each day.

Some ideas:

Meditate on a verse or verses.

Quiet tea time.

Listent to your favorite music.

Light a candle.

Buy some flowers, just because.

Put your snack on a china plate and drink your water with a bit of lemon out of a wine glass.

Read a chapter of a fun, relaxing book.

Go for a walk.

“He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake.”Psalm 23:3

Enjoy your week, breathing,resting in Him and allowing Him to restore your soul as you consciously make room for Him in your life.

Filed Under: Refresh Your Soul

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Refresh Your Soul Week 1- Praising and Reflecting

January 7, 2013 By Joy

As I have been studying and praying through this series, it is clear to me it will not fit into one day a week. All the Lord is showing me on how to refresh is going to take 2 days a week! On Mondays, we will have a time of refreshing in the Word and then Tuesdays will be intentionally looking at our lives and build an action plan.

So here we go….

Today we are going to be intentional about offering praise to the Lord and reflecting on 2012, the good and the bad.

I encourage you to find a quiet spot.

You are going to need:

30 minutes of quiet
Your Bible, turned to Psalm 66
A pen and a journal
a candle
quiet music
something yummy to drink {these last 3 are optional, but I think they enhance the experience!}

1. Take some time to read Psalm 66. Write down any words or thoughts.

The best way to stop focusing on my exhaustion and weariness of soul, my trying circumstances, my pain, is to focus on worship and praise of God. He is worthy to be praised and adored, and my soul cannot help but be lifted and refreshed when I spend time praising Him.

When we don’t turn our eyes on Him, our eyes automatically turn to our self. Charles Spurgeon says this, “He who makes little of God makes much of himself. They who forget adoration fall into adulation. The eyes must see something, and if they admire not God, they will flatter self.”

I find his statement true in my own life. Take a moment to intentionally turn our eyes off of your problems and choose instead to focus on praising Him.

“Shout joyfully to God, all the earth; Sing the glory of His name; Make His praise glorious. Say to God, ‘How awesome are Your works!’”

“All the earth will worship You, All will sing praises to You; They will sing praises to Your name.”

2. Take a few quiet moments and speak to God about His wonderful works. His many blessings. His awesome character. Write them down.

3.Now, let’s take a few moments and reflect on this past year.

How has God been faithful to you this last year? What are some things that show His goodness and love to you? Often, we are too busy or “forget to remember”. Remembering can greatly fortify our souls and bless our hearts as we look at what He has done.

“Come and see the works of God, Who is awesome in His deeds, toward the sons of men.”

4. Spend some time reflecting on what great things God did in 2012, for you, your marriage, your family.

Write down all the things that come to your mind, big or small.

The psalmist in Psaln 66 remembers the faithfulness of the Lord when he led the Israelites through the Red Sea in verse 6, “He turned the sea into dry land; They passed through the river on foot; There let us rejoice in Him!”

5.Now, as painful as it might me, take moments to reflect on hard things. The painful, broken things God used or is still using to refine you.

“For you have tried us, O God; You have refined us as silver is refined. You brought us into the net; You laid an oppresive burden upon our loins. You made men ride over our heads; We went through fire and water, Yet You brought us out into a place of abundance.”

Spend time thanking God for what He has done and asking Him to continue to heal painful spots. Also ask Him to continue to teach you to trust in Him as you refresh you soul this year.

6.Lastly, share {if you want} with us the things God has done, the joyous and the heart-breaking. Let’s praise Him together for the good things, and see His hand together in the hard things.

“Come and hear, all who fear God, And I will tell of what He has done for my soul.”

Here are mine….

His works in my life in 2012:

allowed me to grow deeper in my walk with Him
brought a deepening of close friendships which have been a balm to my soul
Dave and I started instituting “at home” date night which has renewed our marriage
our family took several village trips interior, which were life-giving as we did ministry together as a family {you can read about our most recent one here and here}
the kids and I took a soul-refreshing trip back to the States, and I was able to spend time resting and hanging out with family {and drinking Starbucks!}
several wonderful things that I am not at liberty to share via the Internet

The hard things that God used {is using} to refine me:

the devastation of learning family secrets, which led to the blessing of meeting my wonderful brother and deep reconciliation with my family, learning the hard way that brokenness is a gift
continual pain and exhaustion due to Lupus, that God continues to use in my life to show me how weak I am and how much I need Him in my life.
experiencing severe burnout, which left me spent, through which God is continuing to show me how to rest in Him
near constant power outages and the constant yelping of the neighbor’s dog, which I wish I could say have grown me immensely and I am so spiritual I even thank God for the disruptions. But honestly? I am not there. I can survive them, but I am not to the point where I would say I am thankful for them. I pray I might continue to choose here.

Now it is your turn.

Filed Under: mothering, Refresh Your Soul

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100 Pound Loser {A Review}

January 3, 2013 By Joy

I remember the day I first met Jessica in person. 2 years ago, at Sarah Mae’s house, Jessica walked in. I knew I loved her from the very beginning. She was funny, engaging, stylish, and friendly from the moment we met. That is exactly the Jessica you meet in the pages of this book. This book is a simple, fun, engaging, and immensely helpful read for the person who is ready to make a change, but is overwhelmed on how to begin. Jessica is honest about her own struggles and puts the reader right at ease. She takes the guess work out of how to lose weight and offers a simple, no nonsense plan on how to reach your goal {and a pretty awesome after photo for inspiration!}.

If this is the year that you are committed to getting healthy and need some guidance and encouragement, 100 pound loser is the book you want. It is a quick read, but don’t let that fool you, it is full of wisdom and practical tips on helping you feel great and get healthy. I loved it because she is a real mom, with a real life, 4 kids, and can’t spend hours in the gym, nor can she spend thousands of dollars on specialty foods. This is a plan for every woman, a do-able plan, wise encouragement, and honesty.

I hope you love it as much as I did!

To buy the book, just head over to the 100poundloser page or get it at Amazon.

*I was given a copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review. But to be honest, I would have bought it anyway.*

Filed Under: Books

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