Friday Favorites

One of my favorite authors is Beverly Hyles. I have yet to read anything by her that didn't challenge and encourage me. I love "Woman, the Assembler." I read that book during the end of the my pregnancy with Micah and I will never be able to think of that book without remembering sitting in the NICU rereading parts of it while Micah was sleeping. I plan to buy it. I love to reread parts of books like that and I borrowed it from a friend.

I bought "I Really Am Precious to God" to read after I had Kevin. (By the way, I love buying an encouraging book to read after having a baby. It's nice for downtime in the hospital and refreshes my spirit in a transition time.)

This book is mostly about learning to accept who you are in Christ. Amazing! She has such a clear way of communicating her thoughts. She was speaking in one chapter about  becoming "the beautiful person God wants you to be." She says to begin playing a different role. Why? Because God has already said "you're loved, you're valued, you're somebody." She says to play a different role and your actions will follow. And then your feelings will follow. Because if you begin to think differently, you will act differently. And isn't that true?!

Try one of her books. They are fantastic!

Thankful Thursday

And for our last edition....

23. I'm thankful for the two pastor's wives I've had in life. They are both amazing ladies and are great role models for me!

24.  I'm thankful for yoga. It's my favorite form of exercise!

25.  I'm thankful for a budget! It's so refreshing to know how much money you have and where it needs to go.

26. I'm thankful for Facebook. It allows me to keep up with friends and family who are far away.

27. I'm thankful for Christmas! It's my favorite time of the year. I love celebrating Jesus. And I love the music and decorations.

28.  I'm thankful for new ideas. It's great to think of something to do to enhance home and family life. Or whatever else :)

29.  I'm thankful for a washer and dryer in my house! It's so nice to just do laundry when I'm doing all my other work. And to not cart the kids and clothes to the laundrymat!

30. Last but not least, I'm thankful for my dishwasher!! It's amazing :)

So Much To Do, So Little Time

So many things fill an average day around here. Cooking, cleaning, laundry, changing diapers, training toddlers, tickling, reading, exercising, laughing with my husband, studying my Bible, sleeping. And there are so many other things to do too! Hello, Pinterest? Even without all the extra ideas on Pinterest I have plenty of interests. I would love to read more, take up drawing again, learn to sew, write more. None of these things are bad in themselves but I can't do them all. I have 24 hours every day and some of it must be spent sleeping. (Think of all I could do without sleep! Actually I'd probably waste most of it; like I did before I had kids.)

Some things are no-brainers. I exercise because this is the only body I have. I need to take care of it. Not to mention I feel so much better when I exercise. I cook because we must eat. My children are only little once; I need to spend time training and playing. God charged me with keeping this house so I clean and do the laundry and make it homey and beautiful.

But how should I decide what to do with what little extra time I have? Recently I have practiced asking myself these three questions.
1. What eternal value does the activity have?
2. Is this activity part of the work God has given me?
3. Will it benefit my family or someone else as well as myself?

It will matter if I teach my kids the Bible. So I am working on a Scripture book for the boys. It will matter if I'm growing as a Christian so I pick books to read carefully. My marriage is part of my Biblical responsibilities so it's important that I develop that relationship. It won't really matter if I draw right now. Drawing doesn't have eternal value, is not part of the work God has given me now (unless I can use it to decorate), and doesn't really benefit anyone else (unless I sold it. But it's not that good.). Drawing is not wrong. It is actually good; but it's not a priority now, today.  Not to say that I never do any artwork; I've found a few things I'd like to do for Christmas decorations. I just don't stress about not doing it if I don't have time. 

Only so many things can fit into my daily routine. I must choose carefully the activities that fill my time. Ephesians 5:16 tells me to redeem the time. May my time management honor God and make the most of what He has given me. 

Christmas Wreath Bread!

It's that time again! Time for Christmas Wreath Bread! This stuff is totally amazing. For whatever reason I only make it around Christmas. I think I should ignore the name and make it all the time! 

The only change I make is using pecans instead of almonds. But I'm sure almonds would be tasty in it! It's super easy to do so go dazzle your friends with this impressive-looking bread!

Quotes

If  God Himself has assigned me the task of caring for my home, then I don't want to halfheartedly perform the duties of today, reserving my best efforts for "tomorrow." Carolyn Mahaney

There's also a quote that says, "Preparation for tomorrow is the best use of today." I cannot wait for something "big" or "important" to do my best. I must recognize that my work today is what God has given me to do. And that will be true every single day. God wants my best today. I want to do my best as a wife, as a mother, as a homemaker. God alone sees the future; He knows the preparation I will need. That preparation includes today, whether it involves dirty diapers and dishes, soul-winning and singing, or cooking and doing laundry.

More Pictures

Apparently, this week, we're just posting pictures! But we're having so much fun! :) And yes, I realize none of these are from Thanksgiving. They are all on Justin's phone.  

Baby Kevin found his thumb. Adorable! But you can take away a paci, he's going to need his thumb again...

  Cute baby! 

Baby snuggles before bed! 

Love my man! 

I "made" this cool letter learning tool for Micah and taped it to the fridge. 

Then you just match up the letters. Thanks, Pinterest! 

I've had a list of verses and concepts that I want to be sure to teach our children. So far, they had just been a list on my iPad but I saw an idea (Pinterest!) about making your own book with a scrapbook. So I started on that last night. I'm super excited about it and I have already planned to add the Romans Road and other verses to it as well. 

There are some sample pages. I'm going to add stickers and fun illustrations to keep the interest of little ones as well! 

And our first family of four picture! (Justin found an app for his iPhone that takes pictures with a timer.) God has blessed me with so much!! 

Thankful Thursday

16. I am thankful for sunshine. I love sunshine! I would live somewhere warm and tropical if we could move our church there :)

17. I am thankful that my husband is off work for the next four days! Hurray for time with my family!

18. I'm thankful that I'm a work in progress. God is working on me and I am constantly finding things I need to change and improve on. Life is growth.

19. I'm thankful for marriage. Our marriage. Our little world within the rest of the world that stabilizes our family.

20. I'm thankful for friends. We have some great friends and they all contribute to our lives in some way.

21. I'm thankful for my comfy couch. I pile up on it for some amount of time every day to read to Micah, feed Kevin, read my Bible, watch tv with my husband, talk to friends, drink hot chocolate or Dr. Pepper, and occasionally nap.

22. Oh, and I'm thankful for Dr. Pepper. For a collection of preservatives and chemicals it's pretty tasty :)

I hope you are all having a wonderful Thanksgiving! May gratitude to God permeate our lives every day!