There are those amazing moments in life when friends reach out to you to do the a favor and it is oh so flattering! Noelle and I have been friends since Bible College. Here is something I don’t admit to often…we were on the cheerleading squad together….yep I finally aired that dirty little secret!
Ok are you done laughing now…no…I will give you a minute longer……
Ok I’m declaring the laugh fest over! This book is meant for teen girls. It takes you on a journey to find purpose in this crazy emotional time that each one of us girls must face growing up. Noelle vividly depicts the struggles and the joys of being a teen. How do I know I see it every week in my teen Sunday School class and our youth group. The struggles are the same, the relationships are the same, and the choices are the same. Noelle is able to take her life experiences and communicates them in a clear understanding way. This study does not lack for scripture references and does NOT play hermeneutical gymnastics with the texts!
This book is incredibly solid and poitedly written to show Biblical truths are still relevant today. Matter fact as i read this book, i was impacted by the heart of Noelle as she shared a specific story talking about an unsaved friend. It brings joy to me to see God using the trials Noelle faced in college in such an amazing way. Noelle and I really became friends during that time mentioned in Chapter 7 Forgiven Girl.
I think that in all of the book reviews I have ever done, this one book has the ability to change the most lives. Her candid approach to sensitive topics astounds me! I give this book 6 stars out of 5. And most of all I cannot wait to use this book with the teen girls at our church!
Disclaimer: i in no way shape or form am obligated to give a positive review of this book nor did I receive any compensation for either reviewing the book or giving a positive review. I received a complimentary copy for reviewing via the author.
Milestones…..I remember waiting for each kid in our house to meet certain milestones. first it’s to smile, then sleep through the night , then there are first teeth, rolling, sitting, crawling, standing walking, then there is riding a bike, first day of school, driving (GULP- a milestone not too far off for our oldest). The point is that life is FULL of milestones and for the most part milestone are fun and this milestone is no different.
Things happen and sometimes milestones are delayed. Delayed milestone when we are talking about small children aren’t good at all and we have had a fair share of those as well but in the growth and maturity of this blog I have had a few seasons of waiting. BUT THIS IS IT BABY!!!
I had two kids ages 1.5 and 5 months old YEAH I KNOW! and I was just a few months shy of getting pregnant with number 3 (he was born in November of that year). Hubby was working full time, going to school full time and was associate pastor with his dad full time. I was about to turn 27 years old and I needed to do something to get the words out that wouldn’t be understood by my you g cohorts.
I don’t even remember what I called my first blog (hosted by blogger) but I remember that my first user name was Frog Princess!!! (yes I love frogs and I am God’s princess so there ya have it). then came Happy Mama and that was my next blog….a BIG GIRL real for real HOSTED blog . There was about a years time when the blogosphere (is that even a word anymore) didn’t hear from little old me and THAT’s ok. That Blog was called Walking the Walk- and I was off again.
Fast forward just a few short years and we faced something difficult. and because of that I struggled with some major fear in my life and took a major long healing process. and with that healing process came a new blog and a different person. I wish I could tell you that fear didn’t affect my blogging anymore but RGAR WOULD BE A BOLD FACED LIE! It is a struggle to write about hard things and in the coming months and years it’s not going to get easier. See the point of this blog is all about a journey, and this journey is NOT an easy one. This journey has seen my fait waiver and I have lost hope once or twice. But t I am thankful for a GOD who chases me down and doesn’t let me go!!!!!!
SO Let’s have a pasr-tay!!! Let me introduce you to AJ.
Arabah Joy
I was introduced to AJ back a few years ago when I purchased one of the first Ultimate Homeaking Bundles. I think t was a set of cards Called WORSHIP: Celebrating the names and Attributes of God. I LOVED this resource and I used it often and over the years I have bought more bundles Like a Bible study bundle and more homemaking bundles. . And it’s kinda funny when I started preparing for this post I began to realize just how many of AJ’s resources I have collected over the years. I also enjoy her Bible study Methods PDF as well.
You can purchase this PDF Here (Note I do not own the entire PDF file just the ebook and links for videos)
I have used quite a few of these and enjoy them.
Another Of AJ’s PDF’s that I have used on and off over the last few years came in another homemaking Bundle and we are currently using them in our “morning basket” (even though there is no BASKET to speak of)
Over the last few years I have collected and used many of her scripture writing sheets as well. So as I prepared to make this blog post 3 1/2 months ago I was also compiling my PDF books and was reminded of just how many of AJ’s re sources I have used and enjoyed AND THEN I saw an ad on facebook. It was for AJ’s newest resource and I had an idea. AND I had to muster some courage.
I needed to take a step of faith and get some boldness. wrote to AJ. I had shared me milestone and she was so encouraging And she kindly granted me TWO copies one for me to review and one FOR ME TO GIVE AWAY! in honor of my 1,000 blog post so a huge shout out and thank you to ARABAH JOY.
So let’s get into this awesome new resource! It’s called “LOVE THE WORD BIBLE STUDY BINDER” and it comes with 66 printable pages and it’s got a bunch of AJ’s resources in it!
Here’s what you get!
4 different covers to choose from
Spines in each of the cover patterns for 1, 1 ½, 2, and 3 inch binders
Tabs (both customized and blank)
Monthly divider sheets (January – December)
The Alone with God Quiet Time Journal
Bible Color Coding System with instructions and Bookmark
PROSPER Bible Study Method (workbook, templates, + 5 video tutorials)
Sermon Notes sheets
Prayer and Praise sheets
Gratitude sheets
Journaling Pages
12 Monthly Write the Word Challenges (topics include Spiritual Friendship, Money Matters, Cultivating Joy, The Power of Prayer, and more)
These printable are amazing for a number of reasons……
first the are GORGEOUS!!! Love the style and the colors AND it comes with 4 different covers and end pieces for the binder. So since I put mine together during cCOVID Quarantine My resources were limited so I ended up using a binger and clear sleeves I already had
I choose the fun Plaid cover.
The there REALLY great thing about this binder is YU can make it fit YOU!!! Since I received my files I have changed and rearranged my binder to make it fit my needs. And sometimes my needs need to fit seasonally.
Here are some of my other images from my binder….
As you can see in some of these images I laminated the monthly tabs and I made the dividers for some sections and I added some tabs in the back to hold the extra printables I am currently not using. You can purchase this Binder printable pack for $27.00 HERE
THEN LIFE HAPPENED
No joke! At the beginning of quarantine 3 1/2 months ago here in NY I had 3 or 4 blog posts to write and at the rate I was going it would have been posted the next week. I literally wrote to AJ the weekend before life hot the fan. On Friday the NY governor said he wasn’t going to close schools BUT by Tuesday all NYS schools were closed indefinitely. first one month, then two months then til the end of the school year and we lost our spring break. . And even though just a week or two prior to the new normal we all found ourselves in Hubby and I had decided to homeschool 3 out of the 4 kiddos next school year we joked that “apparently we were going to get to test run the idea”. HA. 4 kids 3 schools all handling school differently. NOT A BLESSED thing like homeschooling and before long I realized that my goal of 1,000 blog posts was going to have to wait!
So here we are…..
3 /12 months later. we are currently in stage four of re-opening here is New York State. We had our first in person church service in 3 1/2 months. People are wearing masks and elbow bumping each other. I wish I could tell you that our family had walked away unscathed from this virus but we have friends who have lost loved ones and we waited and prayed for good news. and were saddened by the loss of their loved ones. And then for me specifically it weighed so heavily on my heart that so many of our friends who were losing friends and family all while watching people call the illness a hoax and whatever. They had zero regard for those who were going through so much. It broke me. I had no words. And I disappeared and threw myself headlong into my family
My review
At this point I have had ampersand’s time to use a good majority of my binder and It is extremely helpful to me. I am currently working through the PROSPER Study Method while I work thru the book of Philippians. Each time I use a new study method I am stretched and this is no different. I love it that you spend so much time in the same passage and that you examine it through many different angles. I printed off all the pages I needed to go though the book of Philippians and bound it along with a printed off copy of Philippians so I could make my notes and highlights all in one place and at the end of each section I take the color coding bookmark and mark up the printed off copy of Philippians as well.
I have also used the sermon notes pages…those of you who know me know I had to go back to a regular notebook just because of the amount of notes I take.
I have also used the gratitude journal pages and the scripture writing pages.
As you can see I love the binder and I will put it to good use for a very long time. I just want to make something clear though. JUST because You get this tool, doesn’t’t mean that you will automatically start growing You have to actually use it. You have to WANT to grow. So many times we put stock in people or tools to help us grow but then aren’t willing to put the work in and make the commitment to the one who saved our souls
This is a great way to organize your prayer life which as a pastors wife can m=be down right daunting and overwhelming sometime times (ok all the time). BUT THIS HELPS A LOT! Especially in the overwhelm.
Just one more Note about AJ and her website.
I have included a bunch of links in this blog post but NONE of them are affiliate links. I want to share these resources with you. They have helped me and they have encouraged my heart. And I want that for you as well. Another thing I NEVER EVER do is encourage you to sign up for an email subscription list. BUT if ever there was one that you should AJ’s is it.
It seems like when I am in the middle of something hard an email will come through and either she will have words of encouragement of a free tool that meets me RIGHT where I am at…..
So What’s Next?\
The long and the short of it is I don’t know I have a laundry list of blog posts to be written. I hope to have a design update and some tweaks that need to be done so stay on the lookout but also hope to start adding in more art and reviewing some products of the art nature and I also would love to bring back book reviews but so much has changed with the closing of BookLook Bloggers.
So here’s the deal (I mean giveaway)
I have one set of printables to give away. I will pick the winner on July 13th and all you need to do is leave a comment on this post telling me two things
What is one way God changed you through quarantine or showed you about yourself?
What is an area you struggle with in spending time withGod?
AND THANK YOU……
I couldn’t have done this without you my readers!!! It’s been a journey of growth and excitement.I can’t believe I have hot this milestone WITH YOU!!! Thanks so much for sticking with me! I can’t WAIT for the NEXT 1,000 posts (and hopefully it won’t take almost 13 years LOL)
So Our summer has been WILDLY BUSY with so many things!
Wildly Exhausting
Wildly Exciting
Wildly Full of Blessings
I guess you could say it was wildly WILD.
So It is growing ever closer to the end of September. It’sFall already people and just in case your curious. It is 86 degrees here in upstate New York. It’s one of the warmest days of the…er…..Fall??
Honestly I have been so tired as of late I am ready to crawl into bed at 830 most nights and I don’t want to get out until May. Yeah it has been THAT kind of wild!
People I forgot the my youngest had to study spelling words and his verse for the week. It was THAT kind of wild.
two weeks ago I had some moments and a grabbed my laptop, my coffee , my Bible and planner and I sat down at the kitchen table. I opened my laptop, pressed the power button and …….drumroll……..NOT A BLOOMING THING! it was the first moments in what seemed like months, but in all seriousness it had only been a month and a half to write and my planner was just chock full of wild ideas! Things like 50fun facts about our family, what I’m reading, a sneak peak into our weekly schedule and so on. I was excited to say the least but there was nothing. It had been charging on the kitchen table overnight. So there was no reason for it not to turn on.
So I picked her up flipped her over. It was damp….apparently our evil but lovable cat had found a glass of water. I removed the hard plastic green case …more dampness and tears welled in my eyes.. It’s not that I am addicted to my computer in all reality I wish I could use it more. My computer holds the power of words. I rarely if ever use it for anything more that the craft of writing or creating with my cricut. It is like a friend that I tell my secrets too…And then post to the internet for all the world to see ( ok not really, I don’t post everything but I found the irony as I was typing that). It also held 100’s of pictures and other documents like half written book reviews blog posts and edited photos ready for blog posts. (No speeches necessary on how I should have backed them all up). I gave myself the speech about 100 times in that first hour before hubby got home. When hubby got home he opened the case, all that was inside. 2 lowly drops of water…2!
We got a fan and dried that baby out. She turned on two separate times, all of which gave me a glimmer of hope and then she shut off 30 seconds later and each time I felt hope of her ever being normal again slip away. Then Wednesday rolled around Hubby had made an appointment an hour away to get her assessed. He dropped me off at the pregnancy center and headed north. An hound a half later I got a text message that simply said “all fixed”. my heart beat wildly!! My reply
“Really? How?”
There was no water damage she is just old (7 to be exact). she is a beast of a computer and has worked for me fantastically! I was excited and I made plans for the next morning….only to be left staring at a black screen again!
A wild life can often lead to wild emotions
It’s funny how our emotions can take us from wildly excited to wildly sad and depressed OR wildly angry in a matter of seconds. I remember very distinctly 3 and 1/2 years ago as our Belgian Shepherd Daffy came running inside. She hadn’t run in 3 months, she hadn’t laid down in a month or so. I was so excited I called hubby, excited that the medicine had helped….she ran in the front door, through the kitchen door where she fell over and died. My wild excitement turned within seconds into screams of terror. What happened?? Daffy was old she had a herniated disc her neck. Just the night before I asked a friend with veterinary experience how do you know when is the right time to put your faithful friend down . I prayed that we would not have to make that choice I prayed God would take care of it. He did, I just never expected it to happen quite like that . Honestly we never do.
I’s what we do with the wildly crazy things in our life that shows our character.
SOOOO when wild things move into your house unexpectedly…like mice, a rat, squirrels, a swarm of honey bees or as the case this summer FLEAS we need to ask ourselves what should my reaction be? (BTW we have had all of these critters in our current home at one time or another)
Two years ago every major appliance in our kitchen systematically died, are you ready for this? Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, no joke!!! So when January rolled around and our furnace bit the dust, we could have gotten discouraged but instead we through up our hands laughed wildly and said why not!! It was seriously funny. Never had we had to replace so many appliances. that year we had also replaced both the washer and dryer in May.
When we follow Jesus wild things happen. (both Good and Bad)
There are so many things in our lives that when we look back we see just how wild the ride has been. And when we see pieces fit together that we originally didn’t think were connected we stand in wild amazement at who God really is. His protection over situations that later we realize should have ended in a more horrific way. And yet we don’t wildly praise the one who loves us so much.We stand in church services with our hands in our pockets. We stand by silently as someone shares a miracle from their lives. I love it when my wild friends shout AMEN. I love it when my WILD friends look different than all the rest. Yes they are crazy unicorn loving people, but what they love even more is Jesus.
They live wildly
They Love wildly
They bless wildly
They laugh wildly
They serve wildly
They show Jesus wildly.
So in the midst of all the wild things like appliances dying, homes being invaded by vermin, or your computer kicking the bucket…..OR in the midst of the wildly insane things like a cancer diagnosis, a pre-term baby, a developmental disability, a hurricane of record proportions or how about you fill in the blank, Choose to follow Jesus wildly, giving all of your life, seeking to please him with everything you’ve got! Live Wildly for Jesus!
Did you have a wild summer? What is holding you you back from living wildly for your Savior?
One of the things I love about blogging is the exchange of ideas that
takes place; after all, what mom can’t use a new idea every now and
then!
If you are interested in a blog that brings a group of mommy bloggers all to one place, stop by and visit the Hearts at Home blog.
Hearts at Home’s contributing
bloggers write about motherhood, each with a unique perspective,
reflecting on the spiritual, emotional and downright funny aspects of
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of motherhood.
The Hearts at Home blog covers a variety of topics, such as practical mom tips, recipes, book reviews, and advice for tackling tough mommy issues.
Take a peek at this great resource and connect with real moms sharing real stories today!
For this new site there are a few things I would like to bring you. One is the Meme MY WALK MONDAYS hosted by Scrapping Servant. Another thing I would Like to do is write some book reviews. This week I am going to combine the two. The one thing I won’t do though is write about Christian Romance novels. The reason stems from the fact that i don’t and won’t read them. I have very specific convictions about them and I will write those in a a later post. So the book for today is One Lady at a Time by John Benton John Benton is the Founder and President of the Walter Hoving Homes Located in garrison Ny and Pasadena California. This is john’s 40th Book. The ministry reaches out to women who are addicted to drugs and alcohol and who are Prostitutes. They bring them into the home once they choose to leave the life they have been lining. they enter the home for either a 6 month or 12 month recovery prograam where they are introduced to Jesus Christ. There are many stories just like this one:
Like the time I wanted to rescue a girl from her vicious pimp . . .
When we were on the streets some of the ladies had told Elsie and me that Teresa was in great danger. They had seen her pimp beating her up even while the cars whizzed by. Teresa was screaming for help, but in that part of town no one stops to help. They stop for nothing.
I decided to try to find Teresa. I took two of the staff with me. I found out through the years that you can easily get killed if you travel alone. (I don’t know if taking the staff into a dangerous situation was wise, but these two staff were very courageous!)
We kept searching for Teresa. It was getting close to midnight and we were just about to give up when I saw her!
Teresa was in a dirty, greasy fast food joint. Sure enough, there was her pimp. As I stopped the car and looked in, it was obvious they were arguing.
I knew one of two things would happen if I were to walk in there. Either Teresa’s pimp would go after me, or he would beat Teresa if she attempted to leave him.
There seemed to be only one way out. Somehow Teresa had to leave that place and get out on the street alone so we could talk with her.
Teresa and her pimp kept arguing. We waited for almost an hour and still they didn’t come out.
As we were waiting in the car, I heard somebody yell. Sure enough, two guys were mugging a man on the street. This was the one area the vice squad had told me to stay away from.
A guy walked over to our car to talk to us. That gave me an idea. I explained who we were and asked him to persuade Teresa to come out to talk. He said he’d do it for $2.00!
I gave him the $2.00.
I watched him go inside. A while later he returned and said Teresa wasn’t coming out.
I whispered a prayer asking the Lord what to do. My first impulse was to go talk to Teresa myself, but decided against it. Who knows what would happen?
When the guy came back I gave him my card and asked him to slip it to Teresa when he got a chance. I thought it best that we head back home.
When I got home late that night I was really troubled. Should I have gone in after Teresa? We continued to pray for Teresa that somehow something would happen that she would make contact with us.
And something did happen. Teresa got arrested!
But this time, when she was ready to get out, she called us.
I picked her up. She came to our Home, went through the program and graduated.
Today, praise the Lord, Teresa helps us here at the Walter Hoving Home with our bookkeeping responsibilities and is doing a fantastic job!
This man has a tremendous amount of faith and it really challenged mine! A man who risks his life out on a street in NYC or in LA to just get another druggie/prostitute off the street. The love that he and his wife Elsie have for these girls amazes me and challenges me to love the unlovable! Just as Christ did. I can’t say enough about this book and it was more than well worth the 10 cents I paid for it! For more information on the Walter Hoving Homes Click here.
