More than Rubies

The Best Yes in This Season

2015-01-08T04:40:00.000-08:00

Yes, a blog is supposed to be updated regularly, and this one is decidedly not. That being the case, I am certain very few will ever read this post. However, I am confident God will ensure that it will find the one, even if it is only one, that it is meant to find.

I am hurriedly typing as I know I must shower and get my posse of three dressed and out the door in an hour and a half. They also have to be fed. Those crazy kids think I have to feed them everyday. Imagine!

Here is the thing. I am reading"The Best Yes" by Lysa Terkeurst. ( Sort of, when I get up in time and the kiddos don't realize I am up before them.) It is a great book. It has sent me soul searching. I feel like I don't do enough, you know? I don't do enough ministry or volunteer work, or anything else other than my little life ( that I do love by the way.) Then I took the time assessment offered on the book's website here. In the book she mentions we all have 168 hours in a week and we get to control what we do with them. I mean, of course you must sleep and feed your family, and you house should not be a total disaster. You will likely take your children to activities and such, but if you want to do that thing that God wove deeply into your DNA, write a book, teach a class, take a class, start a business, etc., you have to take what precious time is left and make it happen.

I used the assessment. I use approximately 169 hours per week. Huh. No wonder some things are not getting done. They are disappearing into that not existent hour! I re-evaluated. I prayed. I tried to figure out what could be cut so I could do my "soul thing" as she calls it in the book. You know what. I see that I truly already am. A big chunk of my time, most of it other than sleeping, goes to homeschooling our kids and doing Cystic Fibrosis treatments. Our family chose homeschool to help our son who seemed to have gotten a little behind because we moved a lot, and now he thrives in it. We homeschool our daughter with Cystic Fibrosis for many reasons, but one of the benefits is being more in control of the germs she comes in contact with. ( Of course we know the only control we have over ANY of it is given to us by God, and He is ultimately in control.) We also have a baby that has the disease and requires treatments that take a good deal of time as well. While our older daughter doesn't require my full attention during treatments anymore, neither does she like to do them alone, so I try to be with her as much as possible.

My schedule is ALREADY taken up by my "soul thing." I may need to adjust my sleep a little, lol... by an hour a week I guess... but I love what I do with our kids and I think this is the season we are in right now. This is not a season for me to regularly keep up with a ministry blog, or volunteer, or anything else other than care for the family, including an ah-mazing husband, that God has given me.

I am not saying this is what YOU should do. Where your kids are schooled totally depends on what is right for YOUR family. This is not an article about homeschool or the woes of having special needs children. THIS is an article about the seasons of life. I just want whoever is reading this, if you are feeling discouraged about what you are NOT doing, to remember that we have seasons in our life and we can only do what we are meant to do in those time. They change. Just honestly evaluate and if you are doing what you should be doing for now, what God has for you to do NOW, give yourself a break on the rest. The time will come. The season will change, and you will likely miss it when it does.

Oh and get the book. It is really good.

4 Products I Have Replaced with Coconut Oil and More

2014-07-14T09:06:00.000-07:00

So I posted here about what kind of coconut oil I use. That post was a direct result of being asked the question several times, which was a result of me talking about how awesome it is, a LOT. That being said, this blog is meant to be a ministry. I do not intend to make it one big advertisement. I DO love to tell people when I find great products, especially when I think they make us better wives and mothers by helping us stay healthy, making our families healthier, or saving us money.

That is why I love coconut oil so much. In the past 5 years, with the addition of 2 children with a chronic illness (learn more about that here, here, here, and here), I have learned to listen to God more closely when it comes to our lifestyles and our health. I truly believe He gives us all we need. I believe that there are often remedies in nature that can help us even better than man made remedies. I also know that He made doctors and allows them the knowledge to do what they do, so I do not discredit them nor do I try to heal all illness with natural medicine. I just have grown to be more open to trying certain things, and I will blog about that often.

For now however, I want to let you in on some ways I use coconut oil personally and KNOW that it works. I do not know anything about some of the many claims about illnesses it can cure, and I know nothing works for everyone all of the time, but I DO know that it works for these things for me.

4 Products I Have Replaced With Coconut Oil

· Shaving Cream- Seriously, and I have not noticed a negative effect on my razors.

· Facial Wash- Apply, leave a few minutes (while you brush your teeth or if in the shower while you wash your hair or shave), then wipe clean with a warm, wet wash cloth.

· Moisturizer- I use it all over my body. It is awesome, and yes, I do use it on my face after I wash with it. I have oily skin but this stuff is so light I still need a thin layer after rinsing it off, and it soaks in very quickly…just trust me and don’t knock it till you try it. This past week I have even been using a drop of lavender and a drop of frankincense essential oil to it and the results have been amazing. I will post more about how our family uses essential oils later.

· Baby Lotion- I have a 9 month old in addition to my two older children (5 and 9) and she is the first I have done this with. Instead of commercial baby lotion, I rub her down with coconut oil, and at night I often add a drop of lavender to help her relax and sleep.

Other Ways I Use Coconut Oil

· Cooking- It is great for frying eggs and sautéing. I have not tried baking with it but I hear it is good for that also, and I would believe it.

· Eating- If you have a good quality oil like the one I posted about here, it really tastes great. It is sort of toasty and sweet, but very subtle. I mostly love to put it in my coffee (be prepared for greasy lips), but I have spread it on toast and it was yummy.

· Oil pulling- So weird I know, but swishing it around in your mouth for 20 minutes really does whiten your teeth. I cannot attest to all of the claims of what oil pulling can do for you, but I know dental professionals agree it can be good for dental health, and I really and truly feel more energetic on days that I do it. It is just finding the time to go 20 minutes without talking that is hard for me!

I do not claim or even know if I believe it can cure all of the things it says it can. There is really no way for me or most regular people to test many of those claims. I have personally seen it works great in the ways that I use it, and I know it increases my energy when I add it to my coffee. I know this because I often only get one cup of coffee these days and it is okay! They say this is the medium chain fatty acids at work. I also know my skin is healthier and better than it ever was with expensive skin products, it tastes good, and my teeth are whiter when I use it for oil pulling. So, there you go. Give it a try. No harm no foul right?

If you use coconut oil, how do you use it? If you don’t, are you planning to give it a try? What are you going to try first?

To Answer a Question: Coconut Oil

2014-07-11T11:37:00.000-07:00

This is just going to be a quick post about a topic I get asked about a LOT! I get this question several times a week usually, so I thought this might help. The question? "What coconut oil do you use?" Well, here it is. I use this!

&amp;amp;lt;br /&amp;amp;gt;

Click that pic and you will go straight to Amazon and you can order it from there. You may find it other places also. Just for disclosure, this IS my Amazon associate link so I do get a few cents if you happen to buy it after you click here...but I could get that with any brand I send you to. This is the one I use and I LOVE it! It is the best value for the price in my opinion and I use a LOT!

Why do I use this one? It is unrefined...to the point that I sometimes even find little bits of shell left in it. What does that mean? It means a LOT of stuff, but the most important in my opinion is that it has the best smell and taste out there. There are other unrefined brands that are probably great too, but the question is what do I use...so here it is!

Feel free to ask questions, and I will post more later about HOW I use it.

Why Would Anyone Want to Hear from Me?

2014-06-25T06:00:00.000-07:00

Why would anyone want to hear from me? That is what I kept asking myself years ago when God put the desire for this blog in my heart. If you know me at all you know I am very, very shy and I hate to talk (If you believe that you really don't know me at all.) Those of you that DO know me personally are picking yourself off the floor and wiping tears of laughter from your eyes. I talk. I talk a lot. So much so in fact that it almost lost me a second date with my husband, and my foot has bad to be dislodged from my throat way too many times. I had no problems wanting to write about all kinds of things, but I did have problems believing anyone would want to hear what I had to say badly enough to actually read it.

I discussed this with God, and here was His answer.

God: Use my words, not yours. This isn't going to be about you. It is going to be about me.

Me: Okay, I can work on that, but how do I get people to read it.

God: You don't. I will. It may not seem like it, and you may not ever know it. You write what I tell you, and I will make certain that the words get to where they need to go.

Me: Okay, but what makes me anyone that anyone would even consider listening to. I mean, I get it, you are God and you can make miracles, but can you help me out here, just a little?

God: What have I done in your life?

Me: Amazing things!

God: Tell them that. Show them. I have put you in many vastly different seasons in a short amount of time so you could share what I have done for my glory. Do it. Share your weakness and my strength.

Me: Okay then.

I then began to think. I can relate to so much. I have been a working wife that worked crazy hours. I have been a mom working crazy hours. I have been a mom working outside of the home while taking care of a preschooler and a chronically ill baby. I have been a mom that received the news that her baby had a chronic illness. I have been the mom that had to move and find new childcare and a new job. I have been the mom that sent her first to school. I have been the mom that found out another baby had a chronic illness. I have been the mom that works from home. I have been the mom that works from home and tries to figure out how to take care of two chronically ill children and not ignore the other one. I have been the mom that homeschools. I have been the mom that works from home and homeschools.

I have been the wife that deals with financial success and the wife that wonders how we are going to pay the bills. I have been the wife that wondered why her husband ever loved her and the wife that knows, beyond a shadow of a doubt that her husband and marriage are nothing short of a miraculous gift from an amazing God. I have been the wife that wondered, at the same time, how I could live with this man one more day.

I have been the woman that lived an entire 18 years in one small town and spent the next 16 moving to 7 different towns. I have been the woman that had a corporate career making great money and the woman wishing she could just stay home and raise babies and not have to have this job anymore. I have been the woman with tons of friends and the woman who had start all over in a new town making friends. I have been the woman active in Church and the woman seeking a new Church home.

There are billions of women in this world more qualified to talk about anything and everything more than me, but I am not the one from whom these words come. I am making it my goal and I promise to do my best to only write as God leads, and I trust He will do with it what He intends. My only intentions are to use this platform to tell what He has done in my life and bring glory to God through it. You can join, you cannot, you can believe I can't relate to you because my life is so different, and that may be, but it may not have always been.

Either way, I know He will get the words where they need to go, and if nothing else, He has already changed me through it. To that I say, keep it coming Lord.

Breaking the Rules and What's to Come

2014-06-24T07:46:00.000-07:00

I am breaking a multitude of "rules" with this post. I am not planning it. There is no outline, and I am not even typing it in word first and then copying it over. I am sure I will regret it later. Not only that, I have a long list of "paying" writing assignments, but I am choosing to write this first. Why? I don't know. I think I just feel this is a ministry that the Lord really wants me to work on in this season. I am going to try my best to work on making certain this blog is updated at least 2 times per week, starting here and now.

What do I want to do with it. Well, I want to use it as I have always intended to do. I want this to be a place of encouragement and practical help in living like the Proverbs 31 Woman. It is what I have always endeavored to do. I have prayed since I was very young to be a Godly wife and mother. I am hoping that by being honest about my failures I will let other women know they are not alone. Not every mom reads to each of their children individually every day though most of them I would say probably want to. Not every mom always has all of the laundry folded and put away. Not everyone mom gets a full hot meal on the table 3 times per day. Not every mom even gets a shower everyday. Not every mom has it ALL together. In fact, I think if we are all honest we will see that NO mom has it all together. However, with God's help we can strive to do better, glorify Him in it all, and help each other.

I want to share goals, successes, failures, tips that have worked in different seasons of our lives, and I want to hear from you! I want to know what you want to hear, what has helped you, what you struggle with, and I want us all to share in this ministry of helping each other together. Are you with me?

Let Me Be Clear…. This Was Obedience

2013-05-23T17:04:00.000-07:00

This is a post I wrote while I pregnant and then didn't publish. It wasn't the right time I guess? Now, as we are nearing the end the the second week of waiting for Ainsley's CF test results, I remembered it and felt led to post it.

Let me clear...this was obedience.

Not an accident… our newest addition that is. I refer to her as our "bonus baby." We had made it so very clear that we did not plan to have more children that many may have taken this the wrong way. She, however, was no accident. I don't mean in the way that God doesn't have accidents. Of course he doesn't. What I mean is, we stopped preventing pregnancy, deliberately. This is going to bring harsh judgment on us by some, as the main reason we stated for not having more children, many times over, was the fact that we have a 25% chance of a having a child with Cystic Fibrosis. Our daughter has it, our son does not. There are all the common reasons for not wanting this… all of them which I am sure you can imagine on your own without my listing them.

So what changed? Frankly, God changed our hearts. I don't know why. Who ever KNOWS "why" with God? It happened slowly within both of us. I always wanted more children, but Aaron never did. Then, when we got our daughter's diagnosis, I made my peace and was perfectly content with two children. After a while, I even decided I was HAPPY with two children. They are healthy (Ashton is doing VERY well) and happy, and I love them, and who wants to change diapers again anyway? I was enjoying having my body back and having a little more sleep at night too. It was nice to leave the house without a billion things and to have kids that could basically dress themselves.

About two years after Ashton was born, Aaron said if it wasn't for the CF he would want another. That was a shock. He always only wanted two. I think that was the start. His heart was changing, though we didn't realize it at the time. As my babies got bigger, I missed having babies. We both gazed at new babies in Church and didn't really feel we were ready to stop having babies ourselves. During these years, I had intentions of having a permanent birth control procedure done, but multiple moves and finances caused it not work out for some reason or another. Finally, it was do or die time. I was going to make an appointment to take care of things for good.

But I heard a whisper. I know God's voice. I have heard it many times before, most notably here, if you haven't read that yet. The question was "Why?" The only thing I could come up with was CF. Then the idea came to me of one day Ashton asking why we didn't have more kids. I could say lots of things, but what if she heard the truth? What would that do to her? Regardless of what was said, she would hear that we didn't want another like her. That, my friends, was not okay with me.

A few days later I sent a text to my husband in jest. It was something to the effect of "Can't we just see what happens?" I got a totally unexpected response. Instead of the "NO!" I expected, I got a "we'll see." We started praying, separately, that night and a few days later discussed it some more. We searched and searched for a reason that we agreed upon other than the chance for Cystic Fibrosis. There wasn't one. We both felt God nudging us to get out of the way and let Him work. Not that we could ever really do anything to stop Him, but we felt He was looking for obedience. We did not know if that obedience would result in another child, and we had no promise of a child with or without CF. We only heard "obey and watch Me work." So, we obeyed.

We knew the risks from the start. We know them now as I feel my almost 20 week daughter wiggling in my belly. I know what I may face as a mother, what she may face as her life, and what our family may face together. I also know God had a plan for this child at this time, He intended for us to be her family, and he formed her…. CF genes or not….in His secret place with a specific plan for her in mind. He knew her name when He was on the cross, even though I don't know it yet myself.

We won't know for sure until she is born and tested if she has Cystic Fibrosis like her big sister. The 25% chance is big, and it seems even bigger when you hear the number of families with multiple CF children. I just felt the need to set the record straight. She is the result of an act of obedience. She is not an accident. We went in with eyes wide open, and we are prepared to take care of the child He has blessed us with no matter what. It is scary and somewhat overwhelming to think of what could be, don’t get me wrong. There are no promises in the Bible for an easy life however, and I only pray we can, as a family, use WHATEVER comes in our lives and the lives of our children to bring glory and honor to God.

Just Where Is "Afar?"

2013-04-22T07:23:00.000-07:00

"She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar."

Proverbs 31:13-15

I have addressed this topic on here before, but it is a season of my life where it bears revisiting. I thought it would be fun to revisit it togetherJ The Proverbs 31 Woman brought her food from afar. I really am not sure what that means in the context of the time in which she lived. I know that putting food on the table was hard work. It meant growing it yourself or walking to the market and spending money, as wisely as possible, to provide nourishing meals for the family. What does that look like today?

Pretty much the same I suppose. We drive to the market rather than walk, and we have many more options than she had. I am pretty sure we have many more unhealthy options mostly. I could write a whole post about how you should coupon, grow your own food, and make everything from scratch. However, I know for a FACT that is not always possible. Some of you work outside of the home full-time, which I did for over 10 years. Some of you, like me, still work a job at home other than your regular home keeping and mothering duties. I was thinking it would be more helpful to list some ideas, and you choose which ones work best for you and your family during the season you are in right now. Remember, the idea is to provide the most nourishing meals possible for the least amount of money possible. Ready? Try some of these on for size.

· Have a stockpile of fast, not too bad for you meals that you can turn to on nights when cooking is just not in the cards. This could be for nights when practices, ball games, or working late just do not allow for a full meal. Pinterest is a great resource for these. One of our favorites is grilled sandwiches with fruit or a salad.

· Utilize the crockpot. Again, there are tons of resources available, but Pinterest really is great for this too.

· If you need to pick something up, try the deli at the supermarket. It is cheaper than a sit down restaurant and much better for you than fast food. You can buy an entrée and sides al carte, or sometimes the meat and three type deals are enough for more than one person to eat from.

· Do consider gardening if you can find the time. The Bundle of the Week this week is all about how to do this frugally, in little space, and efficiently. (I don't do this, but it has always been on my bucket list and I am excited to read this bundle!)

· Consider a CSA. Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is something my husband and I are considering giving a try. The only thing holding me back is that I am unsure exactly how well it will fit in our budget. My biggest eater, my son, is a struggle when it comes to veggies anyway, and I don't want to have so much we can't finish. Look around for local ones and see if any would be a good fit for your family. If you can't garden, this is a great alternative, and we are leaning heavily towards giving it a try at least once.

· Cut back on the amount junk food you keep at home. If it isn't there they will not eat it. You will save money and they will be forced to eat what is there ( hopefully healthier alternatives) or go hungry. I have done this, and do not get me wrong. There is plenty of unpleasantness that goes with it at first. This is especially true of the first time the 8 year old does not have a selection of potato chips to choose from for an afterschool snack. (Yes, I am that mom. No, I never said I was perfect, lol. )

· Coupon and look at sales if you have time. If you do not have time, don't sweat it or feel guilty. Do the best you can. Pay attention when you shop so you recognize a good price with you see it, and make an effort to spend the least amount possible on the best quality food possible. .

Do you guys have more tips for us? Let us know more about your "afar" in the comments or drop us a line on Facebook. Also, if you do utilize Pinterest, I would love to have you join me here. One last thing, the Bundle of the Week link above is my affiliate link. It costs you nothing extra, and if you do purchase a bundle I get a small cut. If you are not comfortable with that just go to bundleoftheweek.com and check it out. They have a new bundle each week, so be sure to sign up for emails.

Now, go find your "afar."

The Great Homeschool Debate

2013-04-18T06:45:00.002-07:00

Do you homeschool? I don't, and I said I never would, but now I really want to. My husband and I are on different sides of this so I have no delusions that I will get to do this with any of my children. My reasons for wanting to do so are many, his reasons not to are many, and all of our reasons either way are understandable and reasonable. This is a hot topic so please feel free to weigh in in the comments!

Fact is however, I have my baby girl home with me for one more year. She attends a great program two days a week, but due to the fact that she knows all letters, the sounds they make, all numbers, and she is beginning to sound out words as well as do simple math problems, I feel she needs more. We simply cannot afford the 5 day a week Pre-K programs in the area, so I am going to do homeschool preschool 3 days a week, with a new baby, while working from home. Yikes!

I am looking at a lot of different options. If we had another computer I would do abcmouse.com. I have heard GREAT things about them. However, I don't see a separate computer in our future, so I am also looking at the ABEKA Pre-K curriculum.

What do you suggest? I know several out there have homeschooled Pre-K before. Any helpful tips or tricks?

Ahhh Spring... and New Life Everywhere!

2013-04-04T07:07:00.000-07:00

As spring begins to awaken here in middle Tennessee (at least the weather man says it will tomorrow,) I feel like I am coming back to life myself. I broke my foot just before Thanksgiving, requiring a cast that stayed put through the holidays. That put a major crimp in my decorating, shopping, baking style not to mention regular housekeeping. The cast came off in early January and life was good again. In late January (January 29th to be exact) we received news that a bonus bundle of joy was headed our way. "Whoa" and "Yay" were my two reactions, respectively.

That was until this third little munchkin kicked my mamma booty. Don't misunderstand…the "Yay" was still there, but it was muffled for a bit by the swirling in my stomach and my head. I barely felt bad at all with my other two, at least not to the point that it affected my life any. By the beginning of the 6th weeks this little booger had me where I could barely get out of bed! Yikes! Work wasn't done, housework wasn't done, and basically not much was done at all. I got everyone fed, there was no rotten food lying around anywhere, and my youngest got her CF treatments. That was it.

So now, Spring is here, and with it comes that oh so joyous second trimester. It is time to get some major work done to make way for summer fun, and time to whip this poor pitiful house back into shape. Here is what I need from you guys. I need help. Your best ideas for cleaning and organizing from any source you have. Do you have a routine? a schedule? Let us in on it. Maybe the rest of us can find something that works for us as well :)

Leave ideas in the comments or even leave links to your own post on the topic or to your related Pintrest board in the comments. Go!

Premamma Prenatal Vitamin Review

2013-03-07T09:31:00.001-08:00

It's been awhile, that's no doubt. I recently found out I was expecting my 3rd, and that is something we never planned for. I sold all my baby stuff before my youngest was a year old! I have no clothes, crib, pack-n-plan, or anything else. We are starting over, but we are crazy excited about it.

This pregnancy has been so different than the other two. I have felt sooooo yucky this time. Seriously, for the past two weeks it was all I could do to get out of bed. That makes taking a prenatal vitamin extremely difficult. Enter Premama Prenatal Vitamin!

This is a huge lifesaver if you are worried about not being able to take a vitamin to get your baby everything it needs. This is a tasteless powder that dissolves without a trace into anything, so you can eat or drink whatever you actually feel like. Just mix the powder in. Sounds like a great idea to me.

The company offered me a free sample, but the opinion in this post is solely my own. They are even offering a 30 day supply free to one lucky reader. Comment below to be entered. Good luck!

Persecuted For....Cooking Dinner?

2012-10-03T06:06:00.002-07:00

Have you ever felt like you were being looked down upon for trying to be a wife, or mother, like the Proverbs 31 Woman? I have, and it really took be by surprise. I do not think those on the other side were being mean spirited, as they were friends and dear co-workers, but they had a much more worldly view of what a wife should be.

The incident happened before we had kids. I was working as an auditor at a public accounting firm and traveled overnight frequently. This one time I was with a group from the office headed to training. On the shuttle from the airport to the hotel, my husband called and we had an pretty run of the mill conversation, of which my friends only heard one side. They heard something like this.

"There is a roast in the crock pot for tonight and this, this, and that in the refrigerator for the rest of the time I am gone. I wrote directions on it all. Your welcome." It was over 10 years ago, and I do not remember the conversation word for word, but I remember the stares I got as I hung up the phone. The looks were immediately followed with questions like "Can't he fix his own food?" Comments such as "He's a big boy." and "You are not his mother." still sting today. In truth, it didn't bother me about me, but I didn't like for him to be ridiculed. I made it clear that yes, he could get his own dinner, but I love him and I love doing things for him and while I am away that is one thing I can do.

That event, along with similar others during my time at that job earned me the nickname June Cleaver. Though it was meant to make me self-concious, the one who started it eventually used it as a compliment, and honestly, I always considered it one.

The world has a very different view of what a marriage should look like when compared to what the Bible says. Do not let it deter you from what you know is God's will for you as a wife, mother, and woman of God.

Do you have a similar story? Share it in comments or on the Facebook page. I'd love to hear it!

Never Give Up

2012-10-01T06:26:00.001-07:00

Today's post is a quickie because frankly, my kids are on fall break and I want to finish my work so I can play with them. Today I am praising that I am doing my work in my kitchen's "office corner" while my kids are happy in the living room or play room. I did not have to figure out childcare for the break, or how to pay for the additional care that would be needed if I were at a regular 9 to 5. Let me rephrase; I am and shouting from the virtual rooftops THANK YOU LORD!

If you ARE a mom working outside of the home today, you may be fine with that. That is OKAY. God has a different plan for everyone, and if you are at peace with it, and you still serve your family as He commands, you are superwoman in my book:) I did it for years but NEVER had peace. I knew God COULD change it, but honestly I did not know if he would. I also knew it would take a totally unforeseen miracle.

It came on the same day I watched my grandfather air lifted from one hospital to another, moments after I kissed him on the forehead and saw him conscious for the last time. As I was driving home my husband called and told me about a phone call he had gotten to interview for a job. This was a job we had prayed for, but you have to understand, he had NOT applied for a job. We had no clue there was an opening and at the time, no idea how they got his name. This was the "miracle" we had prayed for... the moved mountain so to speak. There is so much more, but for now I want to encourage you today that if God has planted a desire in your heart do not lose hope. Do not give up. He will grant the desires of your heard that He places there in His time and likely in a way you never imagined.

God As An...Accountant?

2012-09-26T08:37:00.001-07:00

¹⁹For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, ²⁰and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross." Colossians 1:19-20

I am loving the study of Colossians with my Good Morning Girls group. This was our passage this morning and I just had to share. Bear with me. I spent 10 years as an accountant after earning my degree with a major in this fun field (sarcasm intended:). My understanding of the word reconcile may be somewhat different than that of a non-accountant. Can we all agree we understand the meaning in terms of reconciling a check book? Even if we don't do it as we should? If you are still confused, I am talking about balancing, or trying to get an account to the balance that you KNOW it should be.

Whether it is an account on the books or a checking account, the premise is the same. You have to look at each and every number that is making up the current balance and take out what is not supposed to be there while adding numbers that are missing. In a check book this could be subtracting checks or other debits that were not written down and adding in deposits that were not written down. God did that when He sent his Son to die, declaring us reconciled to himself through the blood of Christ. He removed the sin debt and added grace.

The other part is easier to see in a standard accounting entry. If a number is entered into an account incorrectly, it has to be removed for that account to balance as it should. You cannot just take it out though, there has to be a balancing entry to move it to another account, or to wash it out. The blood of Jesus washes the sin from us, applies it to His account, and God's almight power destroys it. Amen? Amen!

Enough accounting. Just realize today what a precious gift we are given in the blood of Christ. It is nature as God created it to balance, and he reconciled us to Him through Christ's blood! Even if we don't totally understand it, you have to know it is sooooo good!

To find out more about Good Morning Girls Bible Studies click the link above. Sign up to get the emails delivered straight to your inbox each morning along with the link to the Colossians reading plan.

What God Has Been Doing

2012-09-24T06:22:00.003-07:00

My oh my what God has been doing in the life of this chaotic hot mess of a mamma! When I first began writing this blog it was due to a word from God that I should write. I needed to get out there how I saw God moving in my everyday life for others to see, now and in future generations, that they might recongnize His work in their own lives.

Much of the first year of this blog was a lamenting of how I knew there had to be an easier way. It was a documenting of my struggle to balance work and home with the woman God wanted me to be, and an outward expression of my prayer to be at home with my children to better serve them and my husband.

I knew God's promise to grant the desires of my heart, and I was waiting (not necessarily patiently) for Him to either get me home or change my heart. I really expected the latter. I knew in Him ALL things were possible, but my human mind could not fathom a course of events that could possibly get me home.

Oh sisters have I got a story to tell!!!! Praise God! I have been working from home for over a year now, and oh how God has blessed and provided. He gives just enough for us to enjoy His good gifts, but not so much that we forget to lean on Him. He knows the exact balance of what we need to be the best we can be for His glory.

Stay tuned... I really will write more this time. If you are visiting from PinTriedIt, welcome! If you are new, look around. Some of my favorite posts and great places to start, in my opinion, are here, here, and here.

God bless, and I look forward to continuing what God started here!

More Hospitality and a Recipe

2012-03-23T05:56:00.001-07:00

As I mentioned in the last post, one of my favorite authors is hosting an online book study on her blog based on her book "A Life that Says Welcome." Karen Ehman is a spectacular at giving practical advice to make daily life special. Pop over here to see today's guest post and enter the giveaway. If you haven't been joining in, it's not too late! Read each post this week and you can still enter the giveaways until the end of the study just before Easter.

Today she is doing a link up for everyone to share their favorite "company" recipes. I do make this for my family, but it is especially nice for company. While it is not hard, it does take a bit to prepare and cook. However, the payoff is that unless you have a TON of guests staying for a REALLY long time, you do the work once and reap the benefits for several days. It is very filling and a little goes a long way. I usually make this unique breakfast casserole on the first morning after our overnight guests' first night (usually anywhere from 3 to 5 people) and then refrigerate leftovers. I serve the first day with biscuits and sometimes I add gravy for those. Then everyone morning thereafter I set it out cold with saucers and a variety of pastries and fruit for everyone to reheat as they wish. Before you get up in arms about serving leftovers to company, I can promise you they all enjoy me getting to visit, they still can have a hot breakfast, and we can get out the door to do the fun stuff we have planned quickly. Most times we can eat off of it three days at least and it reheats fabulously. No one has EVER minded getting to have it three mornings in a row, and they have other options with the fruit and pastries if they want.

So, here it is. I cannot take full credit. I used to live in Arkansas rice country and this was the rice queen's winning recipe one year. A co-worker shared it with us at work one morning, and I have adjusted here and there to my family's tastes. Don't let the ingredients scare you. It is REALLY good!

Crispy Rice Breakfast Casserole
6 cups crispy rice cereal
5 cups of cooked rice
2 lbs cooked breakfast sausage
8 eggs
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 8oz package of shredded cheese (more if you wish)

Mix sausage and cereal, then layer sausage mix, rice, and cheese in a prepared large baking dish. (I usually have enough left over to do a second 8x8 dish to freeze....just depends on how large you "large" dish is. ) It works best if you start with sausage, then rice, then cheese and so on. I have also done this mixing the rice, cheese, and sausage mix in a large bowl and dumping it all in the pan at once and it work fine. This recipe is full of grace! ( You might want to bake on a cookie sheet to catch any spills.)

Next, mix the eggs and cream soup in a bowl and beat well. Pour over the rice and sausage and bake at 375 for 1 hour or until set in the middle. These are the official directions but give yourself plenty of time. I have to cook it in my oven at 400 for 1 hour and 15 minutes... just keep and eye on it until you see how it works in your oven. If it gets to brown on top before it is set in the middle, cover with foil until done. Once set, sprinkle more cheese on top and put back in the oven until melted and just browning.

You can add in mushrooms, black olives, bell peppers, or just about anything you want. We have made it with ham cubes too, but with less grease for it to absorb, cut the cereal down to 3 or four cups for this. If it is too thick, dry, or whatever for your tastes just play with the rice/ cereal measurements until you get what you want. A word of warning however; be sure to do all of this BEFORE you try it for company:) Enjoy!

Hospitality

2012-03-19T05:11:00.000-07:00

Karen Ehman is beginning her online study based on her book "A Life That Says Welcome." She is going to lead us through the book and offer practical ways to open our homes to others, which I am positive our lady in Proverbs 31 did. There will be special guests and giveaways each day(see who and what here), and on Friday there is an idea swap and link up party. Check out the first lesson which just posted today here. I think you will be blessed.

When your done, I hope you will come back and share. I am doing the study, so I will be posting some thoughts on it here since it is in line with the topic of this blog. I would love to hear from you. Today Amy Bayliss is talking things that made her feel welcome as a child and how to use that to make others feel welcome today. When I was little, I loved going to my grandpa's house. My grandmother died when I was very young and he was single for a long time, but he always had me over anyway and we had something fun like Coke floats. He was also the only person I knew with a satallite dish (it was HUGE), and he would sit through HOURS of the Disney Channel just so I could watch. Though an older widower is not normally what we think of when it comes to hospitality, the point is to consider what made US feel welcome, so we can get in that mind frame of making others feel the same way. Now head over here to join the conversation. I just know you'll be blessed. If you still need a book, the publisher is releasing a new print that should be available this week. Until then Karen is making it easy to join in without a book...so don't let they stop you!

"Strength and Dignity"

2012-03-14T08:51:00.001-07:00

"Strength and dignity are her clothing."

So, okay, I am pretty sure this isn't talking about actual clothing, but if it were, what do you think strength and dignity would look like? I think it applies. Us moms are notorious for the stereo type of not showering before noon, spit up all over our sweats, and make-up being only for special occassions... like leaving the house, lol! If you work outside the home, chances are this is not an issue for you. It wasn't for me just a few short months ago when that was my life. But if you work at home, as I do now, or being home IS your work, which is enough of a job in and of itself, then you may struggle with this. I doubt dignity looks like a ratty pony tale, gray sweat pants, and your husband's white under shirt.

I understand more than you know that sometimes it cannot be avoided, but other times, well....not so much. I plan to write later on being clothed in strength and dignity, but for today, check out the new e-book release by Sarah Mae. She is offering "Frumps to Pumps" for free today for those who subscribe to her blog, which is a great read also! It is a month long challenge to get dressed everyday. While I can say I do dress everyday, it is often just before my husband comes home. I think I would be much more productive if I did it FIRST! Let's see what Sarah Mae has to say about it:) See more here.

Practical Ways to Follow God's Command to Help the Poor

2012-03-12T05:51:00.001-07:00

"She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; Yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy." Proverbs 31:29

This verse has always troubled me as a young mother. I would read and have visions of serving in poverty riddled tent camps in Africa, or giving money monthly to the people who advertise and show such scenes on T.V. Other times I would envision working in a soup kitchen or handing out blankets and water after a natural disaster. Then I would look around my home and laugh and wonder how I could ever help anyone else when I could barely keep up here. I would look at the clock and see that neither myself or the kids were dressed, the dishes were still in the sink, and the check book barely made it to the next week above zero as it was. If I didn't have time or money, what on earth could I do for the poor or needy?

Well, things are not always as it seems. First, I realized I needed to take a careful look at my life. Realize that this is a process that has happened many times over the years. Often my time was not always well spent and I had more time than I thought to help out those less fortunate. At other times my money was not always well managed and I had more than I thought to give to someone in need.

There have also been times when things were exactly as I saw them. There was very little wiggle room in the areas of time or money. I knew I had so much more than so many, but still saw no way to give. I asked the Lord for some practical ways to share my blessings. I was somewhat surprised at the big reveal. Maybe it would have been obvious to others, but to my humanly thick skull and sinful heart, it was an eye opener.

While we didn't have a lot of extra, we didn't lack anything we needed either. All those clothes I had grand ideas of selling at a yard sale or on Craigslist could be given away. Yes, even the expensive boutique clothes in GREAT shape. (That we received as gifts ourselves by the way.) Even those that would make a great extra deposit into our slim savings account. I could offer them up for free to someone I knew, or take them to the local mission. Our's here in Knoxville is outstanding. You can donate clothes that are sold for very cheap to anyone, so in one way those who need to can shop there and stretch their money further. Then the proceeds go to help feed the homeless. The beauty is that I can even shop there (and I do) and not only does it help my pocket book and allow me to be frugal, but I can help those in need at the same time!

Please understand I am not saying that you should not be frugal, or make the most of what you have, or be wise with your money. It is okay to have a garage sale or sell items online. I am just saying this one way the Lord showed me I could follow his commands to help the poor and needy, manage my home more efficiently (declutter), and manage the financial blessings he has given us at the same time! Praise His name!

If you are struggling with this command today I encourage you to take an honest look at how you spend your time and your money. Is it in line with God's will? If so, and you see no room to do anything else, ask Him to show you how he would have you follow this specific command. He will answer.

Idleness

2012-02-09T11:06:00.000-08:00

^"She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness." Proverbs 31: 27

This one hurts my toes. I can feel them being stepped all over and it hurts! I mean, I do not consider myself lazy or even idle, and I feel exactly the same as you do when the rare occassion comes around to sit and read a magazine article or do anything else that makes me happy and is not actively productive.

So what is idleness? Think about a car. When a car is idle it is still running, but it isn't going anywhere. You can hear the engine, it is using gas (energy) but it is accomplishing NOTHING, unless it is an old fashioned car like mine. Then it is spewing pollution into the air as well.

We could consider our idleness the same way. If we are taking time for ourselves and we are being renewed and rested, then we ARE accomplishing something. With the right balance, this is NECESSARY to being productive. A car is not idle if it is being maintenanced, even though it is not accomplishing its purpose. It HAS to be taken care of to work properly. However, if your Facebook and blog hopping time turns into hours and responsibilities ( the affairs of your household) are not taken care of, then you have been idle.

Idle = accomplishing nothin of value. If we are idling, we are just asking for Satan to come along and direct our energy toward evil. Incidently, time in God's word in any form is NEVER idleness. Something is most definitely being accomplished. So, next time you feel guilty, consider if you are truly being idle. Next time everything does not get done, seek out where you were idle, or if you were, and make a point to change it.

Welcome Wednesday

2012-02-08T06:12:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the "Welcome Wedneday blog hop! Stick around awhile, and I hope you decide to come back;) Check out our welcome post to see what it's all about, and then check out what's going on. I love to start discussions, so don't forget to comment, and let me know if you are a new follower from the hop so I can follow back:). To join click the button to the right to get started. Have a blessed day!

The "Work" Dilemma

2012-02-07T07:45:00.000-08:00

^"She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard. " Proverbs 31:16

For the first 11 years of my married life, including my first 5 as a mother, I worked outside of the home. I did so out of necessity to pay the bills. Not saying some of those bills were not our fault, but many of them were the standard: mortgage, student loan, utilities, etc. I went into motherhood knowing this would be the case, and I thought I was okay with that. Then I wasn't. My heart ached with guilt each and every day that I could not do all God had for me to do as a wife and mother because I worked.

Now I work from home, and thought the perks our OUTSTANDING, there are many times I STILL cannot do all I feel I am meant to do as a wife a mother because of work. So, I thought we might look more closely at our girlfriend from Proverbs 31. First, do not let ANYONE fool you into thinking that she ONLY worked on household chores. She did NOT only deal with domestic issues such as clothing and feeding her family, though she did do these things, and from scratch no less.

Consider verse 16. Now, before you say this was simply a garden, look closely at the verse above. See that word earnings? She made money. I am unclear here as to whether to she already had earnings, bought the field, and planted the vineyard, or if the earnings were from the field. Maybe some of you who are more studied on the subject can help out. But one thing I do know almost for certain is that she DID NOT get paid to do regular housekeeping and mothering chores.

My point is, IF you have to work, please do not be discouraged and do not let the enemy condemn you. If you feel the Lord leading you to go a different direction, pray for Him to lead you to the way to do whatever it is He is asking, and obey Him. It may be that He is asking you to take a leap of faith and know that, though you may have to sacrifice some comforts, He will care for you. It may be He wants you to stay put and minister where you are, and if that is the case, ask Him how you can do so and still do what is required of you at home. He will NOT leave you hanging if you are willing to HEAR what he has to say. Even if it is to spend less time online, reading, or watching television. (Ouch)

If you are someone who is interested in working from home there are options, and not all of them include sales or making things. There really are real jobs you can do online to make money. I know because I found them. Try sites such as WAHAdventures.com and WAHM.com. These two sites helped me tremendously in finding job postings and weeding out the scams. Miranda and her team at WAH Adventures.com do a great job of helping you find what you can and and want to do, reviewing sites that hirer workers to work at home, and giving a host of other information. (Incidently, I am new to the writing team on this blog and some of my stuff should publish this week!) WAHM.com has job listings, helpful articles, and forums that offer a ton of information as well.

Whether you work outside of the home or work at home, chances are you feel pulled between doing what you are supposed to do and want to do as a wife and mother, and getting your work done. I pray this encourages you. The Proverbs 31 Woman earned money and helped with household expenses sister, so if you do it is OKAY. If this is what the Lord has for you and you feel overwhelmed, ask Him to help you prioritize according to His will so that you can do all He has for you to do.

Welcome

2012-02-06T05:09:00.000-08:00

Welcome to "More than Rubies." This blog is a work in progress, so bear with me. My heart's desire is to offer practical advice on how to become more like the woman of Proverbs 31 fame, and in doing so to help us all become the women the Lord intends us to be, and become more like Jesus. This should be the number one goal of all who profess to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the living Son of God.

Sometimes the posts are spiritual, sometimes they are more on the practical side, but I pray they always encourage. I have buttons that link to many other blogs that I find encouraging in this area of life, and I hope you will too. Check them out. Like my posts, some are spiritual, some are practical such as how to better save or manage money, better homekeeping, etc., and some are simply written by women I feel are inspiring.

So grab a cup of your favorite warm drink (you'll learn mine is strong, black coffee) and stay for a while. Oh, and don't forget to comment! I can't wait to get to know you better.

Afar?

2012-02-04T10:51:00.000-08:00

"She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar." Proverbs 31:14

So where was/ is "afar?" Is this really saying we should go way off and get food for our families? I do not really think the point of this verse is WHERE she got the food so much as HOW she got it. She went to the trouble to get it. Seeing as this is the Proverbs 31 Woman, I imagine she provided healthy, delicious meals within her means. What does this look like practically for us? I think it looks like going that little extra step. I may be supporting a spouse who is on a special diet, whether self-imposed or medically necessary, or it may mean not giving up on finding healhty foods your kids will actually eat.

It can get frustrating, I know. As a wife to a husband who is on a medically necessary low-carb diet, a daughter with Cystic Fibrosis who can basically have whatever she wants, and a son who is just a normal little boy who doesn't like his veggies but needs to learn healthy eating habits, I can tell you first hand it is tempting to throw cereal on the table every night or just let them have whatever they want. Chicken nuggets five nights a week? Sure! A bag of potato chips for lunch? Why not!

Keep in mind NONE of the foods mentioned above are bad occassionally, but finding ways to provide them with foods they both enjoy and that are good for them, even if it takes a little extra effort, is one way we can be more like the Proverbs 31 Woman in our daily lives.

So what are your tricks? One of my favorites is Ragu Old World Style pasta sauce. It has 2 servings of veggies in every serving of sauce. Since my son LOVES spaghetti, I can get some veggies in him this way AT LEAST once a week. The sauce works well in other recipes too. We switched from meat sauce to spaghetti and meatballs so that when the rest of us has spaghetti, dad can just have the meatballs.

Let us in on how you put in little extra effort to bring food from "afar."

When The Word Reveals Sin

2012-01-21T05:06:00.000-08:00

"She girds herself with strength and strengthens her arms." Proverbs 31:17

I have felt led to do a series of posts on here that takes a much closer look at the Proverbs 31 woman. I have had a slight case of writer's block however. I could not see where to start. Was it with organzing and cleaning the home? Should I start with respecting our husbands? As I read the verses that I had read so often, the Lord worked as only he can and illuminated time and time again verse 17.

My flesh recoiled. Read the second part of the verse listed above. The first part I can deal with, sure,us moms and wives have to be strong. But,she did what? She "strengthened" her arms. She had time to EXCERCISE! She did everything she did and still took care of herself.

This was a new concept to me. I have never noticed before where this amazing woman did anything but work and sacrifice for others. She certainly did not appear in other verses to give much thought to her needs. She didn't even sleep for crying out loud! The word tells us nothing about he eating habits, but I think there is enough in verse 17 to tell us she did, in fact, take care of herself. It would take a miracle of God for her body to hold up to all she had to accomplish if she did not.

But why? If she had no weight or other health problems, why bother to excercise? This is the trap I had fallen into and where my sin was revealed. I am blessed to not have a weight problem. Now sisters, please do not hate me if you do struggle with weight. TRUST me I have my own issues to deal with, but weight has never been one of them. So I never worried about eating whatever I wanted, drinking my beloved Dr. Pepper, or working out. Who has time and why bother if I do not need to lose weight? I have too many other things to worry about.

Wow was I wrong. First, let's look at why the lady in Proverbs 31 may have cared to care for herself. She loved the Lord and His word and wanted to do what it said. So consider these verses.

"Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?" 1 Corinthians 6:19

" But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law." Galatians 5:22-23

It was easy for me to look past the first one. That was the standard growing up when it came to why we shouldn't smoke or drink in excess. I mean, I was healthy, so no special care is needed, right? I do not do things that are intentionally harmful to my body, so that is good enough. It was not, however. And it was also not so easy for me to looking past the issue of self-control noted in Galatians 5. The benefits of and DEMAND to practice self-control is noted throughout the Bible. I always thought about it in the context of things that were "bad" or had an immediate negative effect. Such as, I knew I needed to practice self-control to stay off of Facebook if there was work that needed to be done. But what the Lord revealed to me was that if taking care of myself for the simple fact that I am His was not enough, there was more. I was lacking self-control.

In 1 Corinthians Paul says "But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified." (vs 27) We are to make self-control a practice in our lives, and what we eat and how we care for ourselves is as much of an area to practice as any other. We are to be doers and not hearers only, and as I heard from a wonderful speaker recently, the opposite of doing is disobedience. I had not only sinned, I was (gasp) living a LIFESTYLE of sin!

Indulging whenever I wanted was not practicing or strengthening my self-control. However, intentionally denying myself my fleshly desires when offered the chance for fast food or sweets would give those self-control "muscles" quite a workout.

Sweet sisters, I am writing this not to make you feel bad or to discourage. Caring for yourself may not be the issue with you. This sin was mine for the Lord to deal with me personally about. However, I wanted to show you how digging into His word can reveal not only sin, but motivation to do better when you haven't been able to find it anywhere else.

There are two books out currently by some very smart, believing women that address the subjects. The first is "Made to Crave" by Lysa Terkeurst and is written to more specifically address the issue of food. I had the priviledge of getting to read it before it hit store shelves and it is amazing. Check it out here. The other is by Candace Cameron Bure (yes, that is the one and only D.J. Tanner, lol!) Find out more about "Reshaping it All: Motivation for Physical and Spiritual Fitness" here. Candace addresses a lot of what I mentioned in this post, and it is a fantastic read so far.

I do not know how often I will post, but do hope and pray the Lord will continue to reveal to me how he wants me to address each aspect of this section of His word. Won't you join me as I do?

God bless,

The New Year

2012-01-17T06:47:00.000-08:00

I set some goals for the new year, as most do. One of them was to take better care of myself. Another was to do better at getting up at 5:00 am. Still another was to eat lunch with my son at least once a month. So far so good, but it is only January.

The goal most pertinent to you guys, however, is to do a better job here. I feel led to do a series that examines each aspect of the Proverbs 31 Woman, verse by verse, as overwhelming and convicting as it may be. So I'm gonna give it a shot....let's see if I get up a post by the end of January.

In the meantime, what were your New Year's goals, and how are you doing?