Valentines Challenge #1

Tomorrow marks the first day of the "Be My Valentine" challenge over at Courtney's blog (Women Living Well) and I thought it might be fun to join in just for fun. So far she has encouraged all of the wives out there to "PRAISE" our hubands in private and also publicly verbally. This is something easily done for me in private, but not so much publicly . That will take a stretch for me...only that I feel shy in doing that for some reason. Not that I wouldnt know what to say, just how to do it, without coming across as too corny. I can turn into a mush-ball easy. I do know one of my husbands love languages definitly is words of affirmation and I am pretty aware how it boosts his confidence so it should be easy right?! well, we shall see. I do have a great husband with many great characteristics and qualities, just pinpointing down these traits and being mindful to share them is key.

I also want to make this a habit, not just because of this fun Valentines Challenge. I challenge you to do this as well. So many times as wives we can get so busy with all of our responsibilities of being a mother and homemaker and our energy is zapped when it comes to investing in our marriages daily. I know sometimes it can be a real effort to enjoy some time with my man talking and sharing. Sometimes I would just rather tuck the children in and head to bed myself. I am excited to join in on with many other women on this "Valentines" challenge looking forward to seeing the smile on my husbands face too.

Angie Smith....an inspiration

The littles are napping, and the rest of the family playing board games and "kitchen" ...and this is a glimpse into my afternoon! (Picked up Angie Smith's new book today)...I really enjoy her blog and her story about baby Audrey...not to mention her husband is in the "Selah" band

I have enjoyed reading Angie Smith's blog ever since I accidentally came across her story of baby Audrey Caroline. I weeped as I read their blog and even though I dont know this beautiful couple in real life felt so much sorrow for them. Their story has ministered to so many people , including me and watching their song "I will carry you" on Youtube is so touching.

I have since followed her Blog and enjoy how "real" and genuine she is as a writer. Her transparency to share her heart and sometimes her "raw" feelings is something that makes me feel connected...as if I am sitting with a friend for a cup of tea . I am so blessed I came across Angie Smith if only in Blog-Land! I encourage you to check out her blog! and her books!

http://angiesmithonline.com/

Out of my Comfort Zone!

I have been blessed over the past little while to have followed through with something that is waay out of my comfort zone. You see i am a very shy, quiet and introverted type personality. I like to stay in the background and help out in many ways that nobody would even notice. Recently I have been prompted by many different events to do something I normally wouldnt do. I kept getting little hints and "confirmations" here and there and finally decided to just jump in and do what i felt prompted to do. Over and over upon many conversations with women of different ages, lifestyles and even religious convictions I kept seeing this "need for supportive community and friendship" everywhere I turned even if in a grocery store, women kept telling me their stories and how they felt ALONE, and DISCONNECTED in their lives. I agreed. In my season of life, it can be so hard to even find time to meet with a friend for coffee (in my case Tea!) due to a very busy household and just keeping up with being a wife, mother and homemaker. Sometimes days can go by without much adult conversation. Sometimes you just want to have someone to share your struggles with and have someone pray for you! anyhow..back to the need for community part...I ended up having a few women's events in my home that I hosted and it was then that I realized that this was something even I craved. I so enjoyed my time with these ladies just connecting, getting real and sharing scriptures and prayers with! That was like the first seed in this journey that has recently come to fruition. One night I finally just surrendered and decided to "Try" what i felt the Lord prompting me to do, and i did it hesitantly. So many questions came...what if this is dumb? what if im the only one participating?! I pushed those selfish thoughts aside, breathed a quick prayer and said "ok, here goes" and I did it. I formed a Group on Facebook for Christian women. I felt more peace about it in that at least I did it at a good time- it just so happends that a blog i was following mentioned that there was a Ladies Bible study about to happen and it was an ONLINE one! Great. thats Perfect! So I then formed it to coincide with that module in mind. So now I have this "Good Morning Girls-Moments for the Soul" Facebook group and sure enough people start joining and the word spreads. sounds simple enough right? so what its a facebook group, but for me this was HUGE. It doesnt stop there.

Just so happens I have this amazing friend that i really feel complements me in that when we are together she is so organized and is so has a heart to serve the Lord and her enthusiasm for the things of God inspires and encourages me whenever we hang out. See I am opposite in that I am not very organized, am scatterbrained (its true) and she has helped me tons, even coming over to help me clean and organize a playroom...and giving me tons of tips. I felt a prompting again for a few days to ask her to help me lead this group ..(at this point i kept getting notifications for women wanting to Join!) and after taking another deep breath I asked her. She actually said Yes! That alone made me weep! I was so excited that I shared with my husband and he thought it was pretty cool that we would be working together. I was simply so happy that she was willing to do this. I breathed a sigh of relief in that I wouldnt be alone in this. She is someone I respect and her life is a testimony to the goodness of the Lord and the sacrifices she makes to serve her family and I adore her family! Fast forward a few days and here I am feeling another prompting about another friend of mine. She is a lovely lady who was actually one of my church boys and girls club (like AWANA) Teachers when i was a younger girl and tween. She and I have reconnected and she has been an example to me and is very sweet , genuine, and "real" and has inspired me with her amazing sewing, quilting and crafting abilities. She has a way of leading her life that she shines inner beauty and a zeal for things of the Lord and that to me is worth striving for. I try ignoring this prompting and i cant shake it...so here I am asking her if she would help mentor me in this role of leading ladies through a study in the facebook group. She is happy and honoured that i have asked and right away was so organized and even planned a "conference call". That first meeting with her via telephone call was amazing as we shared our hearts, prayed together and even decided on how we would organize our roles and details about the study.

So here we are 4 days into the study and I am in awe of how the Lord works and moves. His timing is perfect and the way He brought the three of us ladies together in unity is amazing. We are having such sweet fellowship together and God is using them both to challenge me in my walk with Him and in practical ways too. Leading a Group that I started with these 2 amazing Ladies alongside me is such an honour and I am so thankful I listened to the promptings to follow through. Our Good Morning Girls group has 107 women in it and even that is so cool. "7" is my favorite number, always has been. Also we have been able to divide all the ladies up as co-leaders and make sure they are all prayed for on a daily basis, and not just the ladies in our group but the household they represent. Its been amazing to study our verses and glean so much from them and sharing them online has been such a motivator and encouragment to me. I just think its so amazing how clearly the Lord orchestrated this and how much of a blessing it has been to lead these Ladies through God's Word and share prayer requests, discussions, testimonies, Worship links and even Family Photos. I am still somewhat unsure how to lead and how to be more vulnerable in sharing whats on my heart but it has been getting easier! I have such amazing Ladies to co-lead with who are so inspiring and encouraging.

It may be out of my comfort zone but I am growing and being soo Blessed by all the Ladies I have met and been able to interact with who all have a heart to serve the Lord!

Family with a Vision

With the new year just starting my hubby and I decided we wanted to set out specific goals and be more intentional this year in the things we do, accomplish and aim for within our marriage, home and with our children. We have heard of family Mission Statements before but never really took the time to create one. We are still in the brainstorming phase and with the children who were eager and excited to have their input, we basically have a page worth of ideas and verses we want to put to make our Family Vision Statement. We say "Vision" instead of "Mission" only because right now, that is what it is. "Where there is no vision, the people perish." (Proverbs 29:18, KJV) Its our vision to implement some core values and some basic teaching and after some time we will be able to tweak it into an actual Mission Statement we can create and hopefully frame for a prominent place on the wall as a reminder.

A good mission statement will define and motivate. It will be God’s means to create a unique household. Statements (words) have the power to motivate, to bring growth, change, and realization of a vision. As Gary Smalley writes "A mission statement answers these questions: What is it, Lord, that You would like us to accomplish as a family? Lord, what kind of a family do you want? We know that our time together on this earth is limited. We know that You have a plan for us. What do You want us to do specifically? How would we define our unique family mission in life?" so we want to ask similiar questions to help define our family. We do want the "golden rule" to be part of it as well as Micah 6:8- " He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God" as well as a few other key verses! its just a matter of picking them...there are some good ones in scripture. For the next little while as we develop our Family Vision statement it is my prayer that God would be glorified and HIS vision would be confirmed for our family and where it should go . I would gladly welcome any ideas, tips or advice!