Often when I sit down to type my thoughts into the next post, I struggle with the memories of my past. I can’t recollect much and today I think I figured out why. Maybe it’s subconscious because it’s not something I really think about, but I bury memories deep. Today an old song came on and it took me back to days in my life when my flesh and strong-willed self silenced the voice of the Spirit. It’s amazing how quickly I connected with the past through a song. I seriously believe if I went through the music I used to listen to, I could dig out the memories.

Before I was married I went to parties with my (then) best friend. We met a guy there who became a friend of ours. He wasn’t a Christian and at that time I wasn’t really living the life of one. Even through this time, God was gracious enough not to give me over to my lustful desires. He still protected me from myself. So, this guy, his name was Gary, we ended up working together in an electronics store so we were well acquainted.

He was searching. He was a single guy, about 24 at the time. On his 24th birthday none of his friends showed up. Only my friend and I came. We brought him a cake. Later he bought a nice, big new house all for himself. No one but my friend and I showed up to help him move. {Just imagine a 4 foot 8 and 5 foot 2 girl trying to haul a sofa up the stairs).

He didn’t have a love in his life. Women came and went. But there was nothing real there.

After I got married, I had to let our friendship go. It was just no longer appropriate and I felt it was dangerous for my marriage.

Three years went by and I got a call.

Right before Christmas, he had committed suicide.

I struggled for the first year upon hearing this news. I knew he didn’t know the Lord and it cut me deeply. I had talked to him once or twice about Jesus, but he wasn’t interested.

It opened my eyes to the fact that there are people out there who feel like there is no hope. And usually, they don’t talk about it.

Can I tell you that there is hope? No matter how bleak your situation appears, you have hope. Nothing is too difficult for God; nothing is beyond Him. You don’t need to see hope to know it’s there.

In fact, …”hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has?” {Romans 8:24}

In order to have hope, you must have faith. They go hand in hand. Without faith {in God}, there can be no hope.

Faith is not about thinking positively enough about a situation that it turns in your favor.

Faith is believing that God is who He says He is, and that He’s going to do what He said He’s going to do. It’s knowing that even if you can’t see God with your eyes, you know He’s there.

Hope isn’t something that’s far off in the distance. Instead, it knocks at your heart’s door. All you need to do is open it and invite hope in.

It’s also something we shouldn’t keep to ourselves. People need to know about the hope they have in Jesus Christ.

Photo Credit

So, instead we switched rooms with our girls. They have the smallest room, so we took it since we don’t need the floor space for play.

However, doing that was like setting off a bomb in our house. Everything that was in our room (sans the bed and dresser) was emptied out into the living room and dining room. Who knew so much stuff could be squeezed into one bedroom!?

So on top of organizing the children’s toys in the basement, I get the added bonus of finding a home for all this other stuff.

Sometimes, I seriously feel like this is what my life looks like. Messy and out of order.

It’s going to take more than will power to get this home back in functional order. Furthermore, my homeschooling needs to be turned up a notch. We’ve literally been floating at the surface just doing the absolute basics of learning for the last couple of months. I want to go deeper. The foundation of our homeschool (and life) is Jesus Christ. I don’t want my children growing up on surfacey faith. Faith that’s only evident when it’s convenient. I believe the ways we live our very days is the way our lives our lived.

“I don’t just want my kids to be moral.  I don’t just want them to know all of the biblical rules for behavior.  I don’t just want them to make it through my home with good grades, no drug addiction, and no premarital sex. I want them to leave my home with a hunger and passion to know God personally and to be used by him to accomplish great things for his kingdom.” {Quoted from a post titled He Stands in the Gap written by Sarah Mae}

Yet I feel lost as to how to accomplish this, because I can’t give them my relationship with Christ. I can only help them develop one of their own.  And I have no idea how to do that. I don’t even know how I got where I am in my walk other than hearing God’s voice and just following His lead.

That’s why I want to implement a more intentional spiritual life. Not just fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants faith, but some real intentional, set-aside time to pray, worship, and just be with God. Because it’s something I feel like I need. Not because I feel guilty or want to be legalistic. I need to be and remain connected to the Spirit in order to accomplish anything. And so do my children.

Currently I am using a Journible to write out Psalm 119 one verse at a time. I also just began You’re Already Amazing by Holley Gerth. Oh friends, this book is already pulling at my heart strings. On Facebook yesterday I modified a quote from her book and posed it as a question. Now I know I’m not alone.

I asked,

Does the brokenness in your life make it hard to believe you could ever be amazing?

What’s your answer?

Edited and updated from the archives

Today, it’s not enough to create compelling work–whether it’s writing, music, a service, art, etc. If you want people to know your work (or your blog) exists, you have to get the people around you first; you have to build a platform.

Nobody can build a platform for you. It’s something only you can invest your time and self in, for it to be authentic.

The question is, how do you build a platform?

It’s not as difficult or far out there as you may think. Michael Hyatt has done it.

Michael blogged for over 3 years before getting his first 500 readers. But then the world of social media began to change and Michael learned how to use them as tools to build relationships with people.

In his book, Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World, Michael breaks down the process of building a platform, offering clear direction and steps.

I have been following Michael’s blog for over a year and his information is always tested (on himself) and it does not disappoint. His book, Platform is no exception. It is packed with excellent information, including

• what creates a compelling product (writing, book, music, art, service, etc)
• how to prepare to launch that “product”
• building your home base (your blog)
• expanding your reach (Facebook and Twitter)
• connecting with your tribe (those who follow/like you, subscribe to your blog, comment, etc)
• and of course monetizing your blog

This isn’t some far-fetched scheme that hasn’t been tested yet. This book is built on Michael’s own experience with building his platform and what worked (and what didn’t). And rest assured, it had nothing to do with being the former CEO of Thomas Nelson. (Seriously, it didn’t).

It’s very easy to follow and understand. I have a list of things I plan to implement based on the information I learned from reading  the pre-released copy I was given.

If you have something unique to share, want to build your blog and expand your reach, I suggest grabbing a copy of this book. And here’s a HUGE bonus. I mean HUGE. Ginormous, even.

If you buy Platform this week, you get SEVEN awesome bonuses, worth over $395. I’m not kidding; and they are fantastic.

Check ‘em out here then scroll down.

I was given an advanced copy of Platform to review in exchange for my honest review.

Today’s post is an extension of our series from Pursuit of Proverbs 31. We started this off in April using videos. Amy had some wonderful, unexpected circumstances happen in the middle of our series and has thus been unavailable. In addition, many of you know I lost my father in law at the end of April, so I was absent for a couple of weeks as well.

Amy is still super busy, so with her permission, I am going to finish up the series so we don’t need to stretch it out any further. Life happens, right? You just gotta roll with it.

So, chapter 8 in Pursuit of Proverbs 31 talks about using your resources or being resourceful. Much of what Amy touches on is saving money and simplifying. So today I’m going to share some of my favorite resources with you to help you accomplish these things. Sometimes we just need a little direction to get us started. Resources are a great tool for that — as long as you actually utilize them.

Free Downloads from Money Saving Mom: <—Click link

• Income Earning Ideas
• Freezer Cooking Planners
• Meal/Menu Planners
• Household Management Forms
• Plus more!

Crystal’s site itself a wealth of resources! Plus, don’t forget her book: The Money Saving Mom’s Budget

Organized Simplicity by Tsh Oxenreider

One Bite at a Time by Tsh Oxenreider

Simplify by Joshua Becker

31 Days to Clean by Sarah Mae

List Plan It – literally hundreds of lists to put your world in order

Investing in your home is worth it in order to manage it well.

What are your favorite resources for keeping your home in order?

Photo Credit

Today’s post is written by Crystal Stine, my guest here today.

…

I don’t always recognize the woman I see in the mirror. How did she get to this place? Who is she? What is her purpose in life? Motherhood has done that, stripped me of my former identity that felt so sure and right and easy.

I was happy to be defined by my job, my education, my marriage, my volunteering. What others thought of me mattered. Still matters.
But I took their opinions of me, good and bad, and made them who I was.

Good worker

Princess

Encourager

Difficult to work with

Bad friend

Daughter

Wife

It was easy to breeze through life in that armor, dressed in the perceptions of others, happy to let my experiences and the people in my life define me. It was easier than facing the truth, easier than taking time to listen to God and do the work to transform into the kind of person He wanted me to be. Who He created me to be. I lost my identity the moment my daughter was born. All of it. I became “mom” to all the doctors and nurses. It took the nurse at her first pediatrician’s visit nearly 30 minutes to ask my name and even still they simply call me “mom” when we visit.

The period of mourning the loss of who I used to be has not been easy. It has been a road of struggle, tears, frustration, depression, loneliness, and stress on my marriage and it continues to be a journey. In my mind I constantly wonder, who am I? What purpose does God have for me now? Becoming a mother has rocked my happy, easy world.

Is it worth it? Absolutely. My daughter has taught me the art of experiencing the present in a way no one else ever has. I know joy, daily, because it is how she views the world. The sheer terror, however, of realizing that God has trusted us to raise this child into the daughter He created her to be is the thing anxiety attacks are made of.  I can’t even figure out who God wants me to be and now I am responsible for this beautiful child?

But if God trusts me to do this, then shouldn’t I trust Him to not leave me alone? And what if, in giving me this blessing, He is doing the parent-work Himself in my heart, transforming me into the definition of daughter/wife/friend/mother that He knew all along I would be, but couldn’t become until all world-armor was stripped bare.

And now, in the simplicity, I can be still and wait for God to open doors, to show me where He wants me and how to use His gifts for His glory. While I wait, I think I must just watch this little girl of mine give a big gummy grin into that mirror and enjoy knowing that we are His, and that is all my heart needs to know right now.

Crystal Stine has a heart for encouraging women through the written word. She blogs at Shine where you’ll find posts about motherhood, marriage, friendship, God and more. Crystal spends her days working at a bank as a project manager and marketing officer and manages the worship band Stars Burn Down. You can follow Crystal on Twitter at @CrystalStine.