When I Picked the Word Confidence for 2017……

Posted on by Mary

….I had no idea what was looming around each corner. CONFIDENCE. Confidence In God NOT myself!  I know I haven’t blogged about my word much, if at all.  Let’s be honest and right up front, I haven’t been blogging much at all..  I have been caught between crazy schedules and exhausted.    I had hoped to blog a lot on our two week vacation BUT that did not happen…I have less than 2 days left…..SIGH!  Oh well  but how do I move forward in the future?

CONFIDENCE

So back to Confidence.  My confidence has been tested and stretched SOOOOO many times over the last few years.  Confidence in my abilities, confidence in my faith in ministries (including blogging), ,confidence in God . For instance if when I started at the pregnancy  cente you would have told me that my role there would include people who had been in jail OR that I would be introduced to women who had been in human trafficking situations I would have told you NAH that’s not what I am called to do!  HAHHAHA I was so naive. And Naive is not a word I would use to define me…EVER! However just when I had thought I had heard it all a client made me cough coffee out my nose with one question…..(Yes Amy insert laughter)

The other thing, if you asked me if I would ever be involved in a conference planning ministry that  I am a part of the team I would have laughed and told you “not introverted me.”   Now I am in my second conference Planning session and I can’t imagine doing anything else.

And did I mention that I never thought I would be a pastor’s wife…ok so I didn’t want to be.  I wanted to be a missionary to a country that didn’t’t allow missionaries.  I wanted to be an inner city youth leader….Amongst some other things….Pastor’s wife was never on the list…EVER!!

Confidence or GOD-FIDENCE

My confidence was not there.  I need to have God-fidence as Renee Swope  calls it in her A Confident  Heart Bible Study.  and now I’m in yet another transition period….Another confidence area…A God-fidence area if you will….and it has to do with fear!    We have been listening to our friend Marc preach on it for the last week, and quite honestly it’s been hard.  Im not the same scared  young bride I was when I married my husband 14 years ago BUT there are certain things that grip my heart and mind tighter than anything else in this entire world.   It’s the area of people pleasing .  I worry about this ALL THE TIME. I obsess over this.   BUT there is a big problem about this…Worry means a mind divided!   I am torn between two masters….God who has called me to do this.  I have made a commitment to do this.  It is my  responsibility to use my gifts, to sharpen them, to hone them in, however I hide.  I hide this from social media.  I have not shared my blog on social media( as in my own personal wall) in  over two years, because I am AFRAID!  I worry about criticism, critique….people being angry with me .   and that leads me to my second master….Satan AND other people.  I am a person divided.

The Problem

The problem with all of this is Jesus himself promises struggles, that we will be persecuted that there will be problems . (John 16:33)  So I am trying to avoid and run away from the trouble that is promised. It’s what I do with that trouble. It’s not hiding from it, BUT it is taking it to God and allowing God to work it out.  It is having trust that HE will work through my words.  It is having confidence in Him…confidence to know what He wants me to write and share and when people aren’t pleased with me knowing that HE is because that is all that matters!

Instead I want a sound mind….a whole mind, a mind with one master, God.I want to serve Him and pleaseHim with all I say, do, and WRITE!  And that means if He has all of my mind then there is NO other room for anyone else.  This also means that I need to make sure that I keep my heart in check with God’s word because out of the condition of the heart Man speaks!! (But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them. Matt. 15:18 NIV)

The end result

So here it is…

This blog will go back on my social media.

You are now free to share it.

  • I’m not living afraid I’m choosing freedom.
  • I’m choosing one master.
  • Im choosing to have a whole minded God-fidence.

Remember this is my story, a story that God is writing and I am sharing it to bring Him Glory, hopefully to bless others so look past you opinions and feelings and think on this that our friend Marc shared the other night,

Without Misery, there can be no Ministry

Yes it is going to look messy and yes we are going to get raw and we ARE going to talk about hard things, BUT if I don’t do this Im NOT in God’s Will.  He didn’t give me a story to hide it under a bushel….NO, THIS is my light and I’m going to let it shine!

 

Happy Homemaker Monday 6/2602017

Posted on by Mary

Good evening, I usually write these first thing in the morning but as of late we have been traveling at break neck speeds.  All I have really had timer is Homemaking….and ministry stuff!  why work so hard all the time well our vacation is just around the corner and I REALLY want to tie up loose ends before we leave.

well let’s not put off this post any longer, because honestly I am ready to CRASH!

The weather::: Stormy…like big huge thunderstorms and really in the mid 70’s.

On my reading pile:::  well my reading pile has dwindled.  I have finished 6 books this month and I hope to finish One Thousand Gifts and I am starting  A Woman’s Call To Prayer tomorrow July holds a whole new stack BUT it’s not July YET!

Movies or Shows I watched this weekend::: Fixer Upper The Donna Reed Show

On my TV:::Not a bLooming thing 🙂

On the menu for this week:::

Monday  Pasta

Tuesday Chicken and dumplings

Wednesday Chicken Broccoli and Rice bake in the crockpot

Thursday  Taco Salad

Friday Pizza

SaturdaySoup and salad

Sunday Meatball subs

On The To-Do List Bahahahahahaha the better question is what is NOT on the to-do List.  But the run down for tomorrow looks like this

Devos, blog, read 1,000 Gifts, Best Yes Bible study, A Woman’s Call to Prayer, Kid’s work folders (yep Im that mom who keeps er kids up on their studies during the summer), I need to write up our pack lists (everyone gets their own),I need to declutter the top of the piano, I also need to declutter the top of our stairs,3 loads of laundry, 3 loads of dishes, mop downstairs, grocery shopping AND hang out with my friend AMY!

What I am sewing, crocheting, knitting or creating::: I  created last week an art journal of sorts with a table of contents with prompts in the front.  I will be working on that for the rest of the year,

Happening this week:::All the normal church stuff with connect groups, and Bible study and so on…and also this is my last week at the pregnancy center  tip after vacation

Looking around the house:::everything is much better after todays marathon of cleaning.  I only have a few loads of laundry left. then there is our room…CYCLONE CENTRAL! yeah That NEEDS to be dealt with on Thursday and Friday !

From the camera:::Homemaker s in training

Ladybug with her friend L….they did some baking while I was sleeping….Ummmm rumor has it that they wore more flour than they used 😉

What I’m wearing today:::  Jeans and a pink collared short sleeve shirt with sneakers

One of my simple pleasures::: Summer rains in the mountains of Pennsylvania (where I grew up)  It just smells different then the mountains here in NY

Bible verse, Devotional::: Psalm 139:11-18 NIV

11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,”
12 even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.
13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.
17 How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them!
18 Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand— when I awake, I am still with you.

For More Happy Homemaker Posts Check outDiary of a Stay At Home Mom

Book Review : The Turquoise Table by Kristin Schell

Posted on by Mary

TurquoiseFirst things first, ARE YOU A FRONT YARD PERSON? That is the question you will need to answer as you read Kristin Schell’s book The Turquoise Table.  In the Turquoise Table Kristin takes us on her journey to build community in her Texas town.  She chronicles he ups and downs  of being front yard people  as they began doing every day tasks at the turquoise table.  She gives practical advice on how to stock a simple basket to grab and go as you go to sit at the turquoise table , like crayons, coloring books, a can of mixed nuts, plastic cups and a water pitcher.  BUT Kristin ALSO includes family tested recipes at the end of each chapter !!  The chapters are short and sweet.  They get right to the point and there are many testimonials of others as they have embarked on their turquoise table journeys.  It was an easy and encouraging read that really makes the reader feel as though you can accomplish what is a seemingly scary risk, but with ease Kirstin melts away fears and doubts!

I  had heard about the turquoise table movement through blogging friends over the last few years but I had not been to Kristin’s Blog   or read anything official concerning the concept.  And even though I had never read anything by her I had decided that my carpenter hubby was going to make some picnic tables for our outdoor space, I new one of them would bee painted TURQUOISE!!!!

When I saw I had the option to review Kristin’s Book I knew I just had to and it did NOT disappoint.  I couldn’t stop reading!!!  Each chapter addressed different ares the Turquoise table touched in her life…even the table wearing out…WHILE SHE SAT ON IT!!!   Did I mention she was on camera as it happened?  SOOOO FUNNY!  The turquoise table has changed her, her family, her community, TEXAS and many around the world…no I am NOT kidding!!!   Being a front yard person may not be my personality type, BUT Im certainly going to give it a whirl!!!

This is definitely 5 star rating plus some!

Thanks BookLook Bloogers for giving me a free copy of this book to review and not expecting anything in return!

Happy Homemaker Monday 6-12-2017

Posted on by Mary

6-12-2017

Howdy

It’s been a couple of weeks since I was able to join you all last!  A lot has happened, the biggest of which was our septic system BIT THE DUST!  it was an interesting week and a half and we still have a 20 ft hole in the back yard as we wait for hit to be fixed!   then  3out of the 4 kids finished school and we had all of the fun end of the school year events then in the midst of all that, I came down with strep throat!!  YIKES!  and no one else had it, nor has anyoneelsp caught it!

The weather:::It has been gloriously HOT!  after my gallbladder surgery I have been cold…constantly…Even in temps that I would normally be warm I have done hoodies and sweatpants! So the sun and warmth has been a very welcomed blessing

On my reading pile:::   Let. It. Go. 1000 Gifts Unglued and The Turquoise Table

Movies or Shows I watched this weekend::: Food Network Star Season 11

On my TV::: My Favorite Martian

On the menu for this week:::

Monday Salad and Sandwiches

Tuesday- Tacos

Wednesday – Chicken Broccoli Rice Bake

Thursday- Mashed Potato Sundaes (Have no fear I heard your plea and guess what tomorrow the recipe

you have all asked for will be posted)

Friday-  Pulled Pork and Pasta Salad

Saturday-Pizza

Sunday- Meatloaf and roasted potatoes

On The To-Do List::Oh where to start!  there is so much going on.  We are in the midst of re-arranging Ladybug’s room.  I also have to clean of my two desks.  Yep can’t use either one.  Laundry and some reading to catch up on.

What I am sewing, crocheting, knitting or creating:::  nothing. I have three large sewing fixes I need to make

Happening this week:::Youth group, a dentist appointment, a couple of bible studies and other general weekly tasks

Looking around the house:::  General cleaning and straightening, a craft room that needs organized, 2 desks that need desperate attention and some laundry

From the camera::: 

Why Yes that is April the giraffe and she is one of the sweetest animals I have ever met!

What I’m wearing today::: Brown shorts and a green Camp shirt and flip flops

One of my simple pleasures::: Reading outside! in the sun

Bible verse, Devotional:::

50 I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.
51 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—
52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.
53 For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.
54 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”
55 “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?”
56The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.
57But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
1 Corinthians 15:50-58 NIV

For More Happy Homemaker Posts Check outDiary of a Stay At Home Mom

Book Review: Zip It by Karen Ehman

Posted on by Mary

Zip It

Zip It By Karen Ehman is the 40 day challenge supplement to Karen  Ehman’s book Keep It Shut.  This 40 day challenge focuses directly on taming your tongue and focuses not only on the negative impacts of our speech but also encourages us to use our speech to lift up others.    Karen weaves her real life stories and struggles within her writing and challenges often not to make the same mistakes as she has but rather take the mistakes she has made and learn from them and apply  the truths from God’s Word in how we react to other people, including ourselves.  each day is complete with take aways, and challenges to implement into our everyday lives and even journaling prompts and a Prayer to change our hearts in the direction that God’s Word directs that day.  Some of the challenges are as simple as  printing out a verse and posting  it where you will see it often OR as challenging as hard heart work in changing or apologizing for hurt that you have spoken into someones life!

I must confess that going into this book review I had not yet read Keep It shut, but it was on the reading list for this year.  SOOOOO I read it at the same time as Zip it and it was encouraging.  I finished Keep it Shut after I read Zip and I can honestly say that if you have not read Keep It shut yet, you most certainly could read Zip It without reading Keep It Shut.  It can stand on it’s own.  Though I would recommend also reading Keep It Shut!

As I read Zip itI loved the short daily readings that were rich in Scripture and  saturated with truth and raw transparency of how Karen struggled with her mouth.  I am looking forward to working through the challenges at the end of every day! There is pretty much nothing I view as a Con.  I do have a personal preference but it’s not a downfall of the book. Im just not a fan of the canned written out prayer BUT I can totally see the benefit as a direction in which to go.  Again that is just a personal preference and DOES NOT affect my review of this book!

I really enjoyed reading this book and I gleaned so much from it even though I have yet to work through the challenges!  I highly recommend this book if you struggle with taming your tongue…and even if you don’t

I give it 5 stars!

Thank you BookLook Bloggers for providing this free copy for review purposes.   A free copy was provided without any expectation of a positive review!