A New Season.

Posted on by Mary

Hey friends! Long time no see. I’m so glad you are here. The last year has been full of new things. We graduated our first kiddo. (The second is over 10 days away from finishing her senior year.)

As a mom I have spent the last 19 (3 weeks shy of 20) years cheering on my kids and their passions. I’ve loved almost every minute of it AND I don’t plan on changing a bit of it!

But as we begin to grow into this new season of launching kids it’s been interesting to see how God has opened new doors for me. I stepped back from here for quite some time and now as we enter this new phase I’m excited to jump back into my little piece of the internet.

So let me introduce myself. I’m Mary. Wife to my pastor husband for nearly 22 years. We had 4 kids in 5 years and they are currently 19, 18, 17, and 15.

My favorite picture of us to date!

Our journey hasn’t been easy. There have been mountain top experiences and the darkest of valleys. But in the end God has used every experience to bring Him glory and we feel blessed he saw fit to use us!

So since it’s been a while I thought we could have a bit of fun. Here’s 35 fun things about me (not my family because that’s protected info around here).

  1. I enjoy rainy spring and summer days. I love the sound on our roof, and when Ron and I were in college we would love to take long walks in the rain.
  2. I do NOT like my feat to be wet.
  3. I’m NOT a Fan of Sand.
  4. Frogs (specifically poison dart frogs ) are my favorite.
  5. I LOVE SLOTHS!!!!
  6. I have directed roughly 13 plays.
  7. I love to work with teenagers.
  8. I have my certificate in biblical counseling and I’m almost finished with another set of classes.
  9. I enjoy leading games as in large group games for our Launch program (aka Youth group).
  10. I enjoy reading though I have to force myself to read fiction.
  11. I taught myself to paint.
  12. We have homeschooled kids for the last 4 years.
  13. I used to be afraid of silence but now I love it.
  14. We have 2 dogs and 3 cats.
  15. I have been to China and Japan.
  16. My favorite food is Pizza.
  17. My favorite Old Testament character is Esther. (though I’m connecting with David now on a different level).
  18. Favorite New Testament character is Paul.
  19. Top 3 songs on my playlist right now a) That’s Who I Praise by Brandon Lake b) What an Awesome God by Phil Wickham c) Up+Up by Colton Dixon
  20. I am a planner girl -if ya know you know!
  21. I have this thing for mugs!!!!
  22. Spring and summer are my favorite seasons.
  23. I have owned a blog for 18 years 😳
  24. I’m not afraid of snakes….I actually like holding them (poisonous snakes are a different story).
  25. In college I only wore 3 colors…black, navy, and gray. Today I enjoywearing other colors and my favorites are purple and green.
  26. My favorite flowers…..ok I like them all but I have to go with my wedding flowers tulips and lilacs.
  27. I’ve been visually impaired since I was 13. And with that I can’t drive.
  28. Uncle Tom’s Cabin tops my favorites reading list.
  29. Ron and I enjoy history and visiting Presidents homes.
  30. I enjoy movies made about authors.
  31. Heath bars are my favorite.
  32. #1 on the bucket list…..cuddle a sloth!!!!
  33. Favorite place I’ve visited is Nashville TN.
  34. I prefer the mountains.
  35. Hairy cows (aka miniature highlands) have been discussed.

So what can you expect while visiting my little corner?

A little bit of everything. The reality is it was once called Walking The Walk and then it changed to Walking By Faith but its still the same premise. This little space of mine is about my faith journey. Past, Present And Future. It’s not always pretty but it’s not really supposed to be. Jesus takes our mess and makes it his Message, but we have to let him. All of it, work, ministry, family, friends, writing, book reviews…….its all wrapped into my faith journey. I can’t separate Jesus from any of it!

I’m so glad you are joining me on this jouney. I’m excited to see where this new season takes us.

Blessings,

Mary

Powerful Women of Influence: #31days2022

Posted on by Mary
Powerful

Hello writing friends! Welcome to the landing page for this year’s #31days2022 writing challenge. Right off the bat, I am continuing my 3-year series on Influence. This year I am focusing on the examples of both Godly and Negative influencers in my life. Now before you say “MARY! ARE YOU REALLY GOING TO CALL PEOPLE OUT HERE ON YOUR BLOG?” the answer is no. I will make mention the positive influences in my life and *almost * all have them have given me permission to use their first names here! the negatives however are more generalized. We all have “those” people in our lives and I will discuss more the impact they had. I will speak of the impact these groups of women have had on me rather than singling out one person in general.

A Little About Me

Hi, I am Mary! I am a passionate servant of Jesus Christ. I have been married to my pastor hubby for almost 20 years. A little over a year ago we left our ministry of 12 years and started on the journey of looking for a new place of ministry. As God would have it we ended up staying in the very church we opted to attend in the meantime. It’s been a year of changes. In May we transitioned from our old home to our new property where we have been transforming a barn into a home., all while “camping “in our camper..

Did I mention we have 4 teenagers (ok one will be a teenager in April). We are parents to two kids with special needs. One with Autism Spectrum Disorder and another with Dyslexia and Central Auditory Processing Disorder. The week before COVID shut down the world we decided to homeschool our 4 kiddos. It hasn’t been a perfect experience but the kids love it and so do hubby and I.

In my free time (Hahahahaha) I enjoy all things arts and crafts, though in this season arty things and writing has been tough. I have unintentionally taken a two-month break from writing and October is the time to get back into the crazy swing of things.

My passion and purpose here on this blog is to help women grow closer on our walk with Jesus and each other because really we are all on this journey together!

You can check back here each day to find the latest blog post and the links to the other landing pages from the previous 2 years. ( I will also link them in every day’s post as well.).

Introduce yourself in the comments below. I would love for you to join me on this journey!

You Can Check out more #31days2022 authors here!

#31days2018

#31days2021

There will be some changes over the next few days made to these landing pages so be sure to come back and check them out.

Find the posts here…

  1. Ruth: Influential Woman #1
  2. Proverbs 31 Woman: Powerfully Influential Woman #2
  3. Tabitha: Powerfully Influential Woman #3
  4. Beth: Powerfully Influential Woman #4
  5. Esther: powerful Woman of Influence #5
  6. The Nagging Wife/ Woman: Powerfully Influential Woman #6
  7. Sarah: Powerful Woman of Influence #7
  8. Mary: Influential Woman #8
  9. Martha: Influential Woman #9
  10. Steph: Influential Woman #10

Breathing Deep: Happy Homemaker Monday

Posted on by Mary
breathing

Happy Monday Friends! I don’t know about you all but I have found myself this week taking in more time breathing in deeply these summer days. This past week I did something I haven’t done since we moved here to our new place and that is watching the sunrise.

Coffee in hand I have met the sunrise 3 days this past week and honestly, I plan to keep on doing so as long as the weather permits (this week looking a little sketchy

!Last week started out kinda rough but by the middle of the week my fog cleared and some amazing things happened, in my heart, in my mind and I begin to do some forward thinking that I haven’t been able to do in a long time. Things for my blog here and for some things in the future.

Let’s jump into it

♥♥ The Weather ♥♥ 

Well, we had a gorgeous week this last week but this week appears to be very stormy. But I’m breathing in and soaking up all these warm sunny days for sure.   

Monday –  stormy and 81

Tuesday – 79 and partly cloudy

Wednesday – partly cloudy and 83

Thursday – Stormy and 82

Friday – rain and 80

Saturday – partly cloudy and 81

Sunday – partly cloudy and 85

♥♥  As I look outside my window ♥ 

Out the back of the camper, there are new walls for the expanded kitchen, master bedroom, and craft room, and a newly set door!

♥♥  Right now I am ♥♥ 

Typing this blog post with my earbuds in listening to our Family Jams playlist

♥♥  Thinking and pondering ♥♥ 

writing projects. I’m planning for my write 31 days series. I will start writing this week and that fits into a larger writing project. A pretty huge answer to prayer.  

♥♥  How am I feeling ♥♥ 

I’m feeling really well minus some sinus stuff but that is minor.

 ♥♥  On the breakfast plate ♥♥ 

coffee (Of Course) and oatmeal 

♥♥   On the lunch plate ♥♥ 

Sandwiches

♥♥  On the dinner plate ♥♥ 

Leftover pasta

 ♥♥  What I’m wearing  ♥♥ 

Shorts and T-shirt with sneakers

 ♥♥  On my reading pile ♥♥ 

Finishing up 2 Corinthians in the Bible

Hello Fears (Should be finished later this week)

A counseling book (will be finished later today)

I will start Lead Small tomorrow

♥♥  On my TV this week  ♥♥ 

Whatever I can find o Pureflix

♥♥  On the menu  ♥♥ 

Monday – Leftover pasta

Tuesday – hamburgers and chips

Wednesday –  BBQ and tater tots

Thursday – Pizza

Friday –  Hot Dogs

Saturday – Dinner with friends

Sunday – Sandwiches

♥♥  Looking around the house  ♥♥ 

It’s peaceful and ready for a new day. Today will be tough because there won’t be a whole lot of outside time with the storms But we can at least move to the barn to work on stuff there!

♥♥ To-Do List ♥♥ 

I have some homeschooling stuff I need to work on. I’ve taken a break over the last two weeks but I need to jump back into it.

And I have a bunch of writing I need to do along with two more blog posts for this week

♥♥  From the camera  ♥♥ 

Breathing
Saturday morning I was up as the sun rose. The fog rolled in and left within ten minutes. These misty mornings on our hill have easily become my favorite!. I’m breathing in deep these quiet mornings watching the mist roll in.

♥♥  Devotional  ♥♥ 

I have been spending a lot of time with my girl Queen Esther. . I’m back to writing about her and her amazing influence on my life! The fun part is I’m writing about a bunch of other friends and as I have been studying and growing I am reminded of this profound passage.

Hebrews 11:32-38 )MSG)

32-38 I could go on and on, but I’ve run out of time. There are so many more—Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, the prophets. . . . Through acts of faith, they toppled kingdoms, made justice work, took the promises for themselves. They were protected from lions, fires, and sword thrusts, turned disadvantage to advantage, won battles, and routed alien armies. Women received their loved ones back from the dead. There were those who, under torture, refused to give in and go free, preferring something better: resurrection. Others braved abuse and whips, and, yes, chains and dungeons. We have stories of those who were stoned, sawed in two, murdered in cold blood; stories of vagrants wandering the earth in animal skins, homeless, friendless, powerless—the world didn’t deserve them!—making their way as best they could on the cruel edges of the world.

Thanks so much for joining me this week for Happy Homemaker Monday! I pray that it has been an encouragement to you! For more Happy Homemaker Monday Posts you can Check out Diary of a Stay At Home Mom and for more of my Happy Homemaker posts you can go here

What are you breathing in deep this week? What’s your favorite thing about summer that you like to savor?

A Look Back and A Look Forward

Posted on by Mary
Look

A Look Back

As I look back over the last three years, I have to ask myself what has influenced me the most…good or bad. And the answer has to be my husband in the best way possible. And at a close second are my children and their friend group within our former church. And the third not far behind is Ester Queen of Persia. And then there is a small group of friends who loved me and accepted me as I am not who they wanted me to be and who didn’t assume they knew my circumstances. Now all of that being said this isn’t some linear grouping…some people influenced me more at different times than others. Notice how these are all VERY close to me. (Minus Esther who even though I have never met her became a close friend as I sat and had coffee with her every morning). There aren’t celebrities or politicians or some random guy that did something nice- OR- some internet sensation (AKA instagrammer or Youtuber)

BUT in the same vain- in the last three years, as I look back and see that the biggest negative influences in my life have also been those who were closest to me. Not the same ones who were listed above either.

A Look Ahead

So in thinking about this amazing Topic of the Power of our Influence I had to ask myself what are some of the most influential traits of Christians today and these are what I came up with. There are 9:

  1. Love
  2. Joy
  3. Peace
  4. Forbearance (AKA Patience)
  5. Kindness
  6. Goodness
  7. Faithfulness
  8. Gentleness
  9. Self-Control

We, as followers of Jesus know that these are called the Fruit of the Spirit and the context of this Fruit can be found in Galatians 5. The fruit is specifically mentioned in verses 22-23. Over the next 9 days we are going to look at these 9 traits and discuss how we need to change in pursuit of becoming more like Jesus.. AND THEN… we are going to flip these babies and talk about how these 9 traits can if not embraced be turned into 9 of the biggest negative influences within the Christian community and the body of Christ!

A Word to the Wise

I cannot tell you the number of times that I have heard believers IN CHURCH say something like this, “Oh well God didn’t make me a very patient person…..” and we use God as an excuse for our poor behavior and we choose to dismiss the sin in our lives as some sort of spiritual gift.

Nope, Wrong. Please Stop!!! This is called hypocrisy. We as believers are called to be like Christ- Christ Emulators . When we choose to wear our sin (Anything that goes against God and who he is) as a badge of honor- we defame Jesus not bring him glory and Honor.

Yes we all make mistakes. Goodness my patience is tested frequently. Sometimes I ace the test . And sometimes I bomb it with the biggest Fattest F you can imagine. But I cannot and should not- stand there and dismiss my poor behavior as an entitlement because that is just how I am.

Let’s be honest I am a far greater influence when I humble myself and apologize for my wrong doing (and actually change the behavior) than when I just dismiss it as who I am and ignore the pain I’ve caused. And in that lies the difference of WHAT kind of Influence you are.

One More Look Back

Over the summer our church did a study of “Respectable Sins”. loosely basedd on the book by the same name and compared them to the Fruit of the Spirit. What an eye opener.

There are so many things we as Christians hold on to. A couple that hit me upside the head: ANXIETY and Gluttony- but before you think I’m a glutton it had the reverse affect on me. Our pastor read a verse that convicted my heart that I was being fearful of what I was eating. After all the medical stuff I had going on and doctors kept throwing out scary things as possibilities (None of them really were what was going on though) I had started to let that control my mind. There are some others too but we will delve into those as they are appropriate!

Another Look Ahead

So now we have a plan for the next 18 days…(there is a plan for the remaining 13 as well- but more on that later). I can’ wait to dive into that LOVE trait tomorrow.

Let me know which of the above traits is your biggest struggle. (I already told you mine is patience. Not in waiting for things but with people) Is there some way you help to combat the struggle? I would love to hear about it in the comments befow.

Check out all the links Below

Write 31 Days 2018 Influence Posts

Choosing Courage 100 Day Writing Project

Write 31 Days 2021 Link up List (Scroll to the bottom)

Pre-Order the God Dare by Kate Battistelli (Pre-Order Bonuses)

Posted on by Mary

 

The God Dare Bonuses

Get Your Pre-order Bonuses before June 1st

Hey Everyone- Can I just tell you I am over the moon excited by Kate Battistelli’s new book The God Dare which launches June 1st!  That’s right THIS SATURDAY! So if you pre-order by June 1st then you are eligible for an amazing bonus bundle. But more on that I a minute.

I have been a part of this launch team for the last six weeks and can I just tell you it has been so much fun being a part of this book birthday!

Are you ready for the Dare?  aka about this book!

God has called us to something….whether we like it or not.  sometimes those things look really scary- ok if we are really honest most times that is the case. Is this book Kate asks some hard questions about our willingness to go where God has called us to go or do what God has called us to do.  I just love it when Authors pair people from the Bible who have been in similar shoes to my own and kate has done just that.  I have found myself in the shoes of Esther- do I keep my mouth shut, or speak out for justice?  I have traveled with Abram and Ruth when I have left all that I know and love to follow where God leads and I can tell you right now that each of these instances.   Sometimes it is just making an unpopular decision that may look like you are absolutely off your rocker to the rest of the world around you.  The question Kate asks is Are You Willing? and If no why not?

Each chapter concludes with soul searching questions that dig deep into where or what God is calling you to.

Who is this book for?

EVERYONE, No seriously are you confused about where God wants you?  Or is He REALLY calling me to do THAT?  How about a hard situation that seems above our understanding and we are left on our knees asking what now or why or how?  And if you aren’t in any of those places I promise you are heading there.  And when you get there this book offers a HUGE blessing and that blessing is perspective.  And many times perspective changes many things especially hearts!

SO what about this bonus bundle you mentioned?

So if your order your copy of the God Dare before June 1st- then you can claim your free bonus bundle.

Here’s what is in the bundle-

– Companion Small Group Book or Bible Study PDF
– “Those Who Take the God Dare” printable PDF
– “The God Dare Secrets” printable PDF
– “Backstage behind-the-scenes” video discussing how The God Dare  came to be

Here’s how to claim your bonus bundle.

Step 1:  Order the book from your favorite retailer

Step 2: Visit www.katebattistelli.com/god-dare/ and fill out the form that pops up after you click on the “preorder bonuses” button

Step 3:  Watch for my email containing your bonus bundle to arrive after June 1st!

Here is the Amazon link (this is NOT an affiliate link)

And one more thing:

And don’t forget when you get your book don’t forget to either screenshot the cover on your device or snap a picture of your physical copy and use the hashtag #theGodDare and Tag Kate in the post!    @KateBattistelli

DISCLAIMER:  I was given an advanced readers copy of this book by the publisher