Today we have a guest – it’s blogging mommy of 5 – Christin!  She blogs at Joyful Mothering and is here to encourage us!

The echoing of, “Mommy, can you…”, “Mommy, may I please have…”, “Mommy, she took that away…” and “Ma Ma!” all ring in my head as 4 children all compete for my attention. The tension threatens to suffocate me and in an attempt to break out of it, I release it in a less than wise, “Everyone just stop!”

Who ever thought I could handle the needs of these beautiful lives; these little souls who beg to be shaped?

Do you ever feel like you just cannot do this thing called mothering? You wonder why God chose you to take on such an enormous task when you simply don’t feel good enough or equipped for the job; when your patience has “run out” for the last time?

Sometimes you forget. Ann Voskamp calls it soul amnesia, and oh how I can relate.

But, you are equipped. Right now, right where you are. God has anointed you with everything you need to be a mother. Our dilemma isn’t whether or not we can mother, nurture, and care for our children; it’s whether or not we will.

“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

Not only is this Scripture true for training your children, it’s true for training yourself.

God gave you the gift of motherhood, not to see if you could handle it, but knowing you could because He has equipped you. When what you need seems just out of reach, pray. He has equipped you with the ability to pray.

“You do not have, because you do not ask God.” James 4:2b

But check your motives. Be sure they are pure. Do you really need what you’re asking?

“When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.” James 4:3

God will not leave us in need. Sometimes it’s simply a matter of opening our eyes to a perspective we may not have considered. Sometimes we need to get creative with the resources we do have. Don’t feel creative? That’s something you can ask God for. He will give you the ideas you need. He’s amazing like that!

I remember asking God for patience when my first child became a toddler. Oooh those were tough times. Rather than “giving” me patience, He gave me 4 more children. He is equipping me in ways I never imagined! Each of my children is dear to me, and each of them have taught me something new and deeper about motherhood.

When I first began homeschooling, I wasn’t sure how we were going to pay for all the things we needed. Some people are gifted with natural frugality. I wasn’t. So I prayed for the means, and He provided.

God loves us and He loves our children. Picture a father wildly in love with his child. A father who doesn’t want his child to lack in anything she needs and wants her to learn important lessons in life. Multiply that by a thousand, and that’s God. Hard to imagine isn’t it?

You do not have to do this alone.

Are we lacking faith, believing God doesn’t really care about these little “issues”? I assure you, He does.

“If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” Matthew 7:11

“He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all–how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” Romans 8:32

Remember to do your part. When you need strength, read His word and meditate on it. The armor of God is something we must put on everyday. Pray throughout the day and stay connected with Him.

Be a good steward of what He has given you.

“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.”

Mother as though you were equipped with what you need, because you are! Walk it out!

Christin is learning the beauty of grace and learning how to pass it along to her children. She has a passion to encourage other mother’s in their calling and come alongside them on their journey through her blog Joyful Mothering. You can also find her on Facebook and Twitter as @ChristinWrites.

Photo Credit

 Thanks Christin for this encouagement.

Walk with the King,

I’m a little embarrassed to admit it – but this is what I usually have for breakfast every morning! Actually I have a cup of sweet coffee {wink} with an over easy egg. Okay - try not to leave me a hundred comments telling me how unhealthy Sweet n Low, my creamer or my coffee is lol!!!…cause… well… I know this is not the breakfast of champions but it’s the breakfast that holds me until lunch and truth be told – it just makes me happy . 

Then Jessica from Muthering Heights sent me this:

She sent me some Avodah Coffee which is from her husband’s very own indie coffee roasting business.

Now let’s be honest – I clearly am not a girl who drinks her coffee black…so I was a little afraid to try something new since I like mine sweet…I thought… what if this is really icky and she asks me to review it on the blog.  I love this girl – I don’t want to hurt her feelings…but I’d have to be honest. 

Well -  I bit the bullet and brewed some Avodah Coffee.

 And I added my sweeteners - please forgive me –  and voila – AMAZING amazing coffee!!  My first try was Mocha Java - I loved it and Avodah Coffee has been bringing me into the day ever since!

So here’s the scoop on Avodah…Jessica writes:

Why the name Avodah?

The essence and mission of Avodah Coffee – and the basis for our name – is our heart to serve.

Our purpose is to combine our passion for coffee with our passion for missional living. We desire to offer upscale luxury quality coffee at an everyday affordable price, and make the world a better place through our business.

Avodah Coffee was born out of our family’s mission to live a life of Avodah – one in which our work, worship, and service occur simultaneously as we walk with our God. This business is a means of tying those three components together as we work alongside each other, ethically practicing coffee farmers, and importers. And of course, bringing you awesome coffee!

I’ve shared a few bags with Miss Peak 313 Fitness

And Miss Comfy In The Kitchen is lovin’ it too!

So it’s your turn to try it! 

Just leave a comment on this post telling me your favorite coffee to drink or breakfast to eat and you’ll be entered to win 1 of 5 bags of Avodah Coffee!  The 5 winners will be announced on Saturday!

You can learn more about Avodah Coffee at their website at AvodahCoffee.com or follow them on their blog, Facebook or Twitter .

Walk with the King,

It’s my favorite day of the week! It’s Women Living Well’s Wednesday Link-Up Party!!!

Join the fun, do a little blog hopping and don’t forget if you join below -please add the Women Living Well Wednesdays button to your post so your readers can find us here! (Posts can include the topics of marriage, parenting, homemaking, homeschooling, finances, recipes, organization and more!)

I could not believe how badly my children wanted to read.  They would take books outside and read so long I’d actually have to say “you need to do something active kids!  Why don’t you take a break from reading and go swing or ride your bike lol!”  Also, everywhere we go my son has been tucking his books under his arm.  He can’t leave home without it.  He is reading in the car and keeping track of his minutes – he even asked if he could bring his book into the grocery store…ummmm…no. lol!

After our second trip to Books-A-Million, I saw how beautifully this was working so I thought I’d get a little more creative with our chart.  I decided to make it look a little like the Candy Land game – only minus the candy!   My son is earning stars and my daughter is earning smiley faces!

Now I must admit, this has brought out a competitive spirit in my kids that is not always beneficial.  It has called for some grace on the part of my son towards his sister who is having trouble keeping up with him.  She got a little frustrated and I didn’t want her discouraged – so  sometimes we let her have a sticker after reading just 20 minutes. 

My vision for the next reading chart is to make one that requires more teamwork.  I’m going to draw a gumball machine on a large poster board and allow them to each earn a smiley sticker for every 30 minutes of reading – when the gumball machine is full – we’ll go to Books-A-Million.  This will take teamwork and eliminate the competition that arose during this chart!   Live and learn right?

Now let me throw in a little announcement!!!  Starting 2 weeks from today my older sister, Jennifer, will be joining us for a 6 weeks series on Summer Reading with our children!! She worked in a library starting at the age of 16 straight through college - this girl LOVES books, has an education degree and currently works at a local Christian Elementary School part-time.  I can’t wait for you to meet her!!!  She’ll give great tips and suggestions for age appropriate reading and share some great parenting books!

I encourage you not only to get your children into books this summer – but to take time out to read to them:

I had a Mother who read me the things
That wholesome life to the boy heart brings-
Stories that stir with an upward touch.
Oh, that each mother of boys were such!

You may have tangible wealth untold;
Caskets of jewels and coffers of gold.
richer than I you can never be-
I had a Mother who read to me.

-from “The Reading Mother” by Stickland Gillilian
- found in Sally Clarkson’s book Educating the WholeHearted Child

Do you have a summer reading plan? Tell us about it!

Walk with the King,

Photo credit

Welcome back to week 3 in our Proverbs 31 series.

Today we are up to verses 12,13, & 14 – they say:

(If you cannot see this video click here.)

We see in verse 12, the Proverbs 31 woman stays true to her marriage vows.  She is with her husband all the days of her life.

We see in verse 13, her attitude towards work.  She works with eager hands! 

And we see in verse 14, that the very basic necessity of feeding her family is a task that she does with great attention and care.  She is like a merchant ship – who travels off to distant places and brings in unique cargo that you can’t just get at the corner store.

Recently my husband replaced our 15 year old washing machine because it had broken. So he asked me how it was working for me just this past Wednesday…it just so happened that while I was doing laundry that day, I paused, prayed and thanked God for my washing machine. I am so sincerely thankful for my washer and my 15 year old dryer. I was able to tell my husband, “I am overflowing with joy for it – I thanked God for it today!” and I thanked him for buying it for me.

In the same way, often times after grocery shopping – I pop my trunk and just pause and say a prayer of thankfulness for the trunk full of food.  I have had my kids, right in the grocery store, say a sentence prayer while waiting in line – thanking God for our cart of groceries.

When we come to a massive mound of dirty laundry that we are about to tackle, I believe that pausing and thanking God that our family has all these clothes can change our perspective and help us come to our tasks with eager hands.

Our challenge this week: 

Look at the menial tasks of doing laundry, grocery shopping and cooking as a noble task that God has called us to.  Come to these tasks with an eager attitude.  If this is a struggle for you – pray and ask God to help you.  Get on your knees and thank God that he has provided for our basic needs of clothing and food and never stop giving thanks!  Bring your kids along side of you and let them offer up a prayer of thanksgiving too.

 

Walk with the King,

**If you are new to Women Living Well, I invite you to join our series by subscribing to receive the free Proverbs 31 eBook, you can also follow our optional summer Proverbs 31 Bible reading plan here, and visit GoodMorningGirls.org on Wednesday and Friday for more on verses 12-14!

 Last January I shared in a blog post about this production company that had contacted me to be in a reality show.  After they interviewed me 3 times, and then my dearest friends and sisters - their casting director flew to my hometown and met with us over an Italian dinner.  After she left, each girl recorded Skype interviews for a pilot and then the contract came. We (my husband and I)  got cold feet – or God gave us very unsettled spirits and we decided to walk away.  At the time it was a HUGE relief to have that whole 2 month saga resolved!  It was  a very confusing time for me as I tried to figure out God’s will.

Well shortly after I turned this non-Christian company down – a 2nd production company came along and they were Christians – hooray!  They were out of LA and they had some different ideas…we talked and dreamed a bit but we left it up in the air for the details to come together at a later date if God opened doors.

Then last month a 3rd production company contacted me – which I only slightly alluded to in this blog post here (at the very bottom I mention it) and I quickly said – “no thank you” in an email.

But then – while I was Disney World would you believe that a FOURTH production company emailed me and a bunch of my blogging friends!!!  While I was gone the other girls – which include (Angela, Janelle, Clare, Ruth and Darlene) did their phone interviews and they had moved on to their Skype interviews. 

So I came home from vacation to this very real opportunity blooming!!!  I waited 4 days to email the company back because I still was unsettled from the January experience.  But all my friends were moving forward and I felt the need to pay attention to this open door.  As a matter of fact, one friend said to me – “Courtney, when God keeps opening the same door over and over – maybe you should walk through it.”

So I called the production company and had my first interview and they pitched their concept.  This company had a different concept than the first – a mix of reality and talk.  After talking with my husband, the other bloggers and praying, I emailed the company and said I would not be going forward with the process. 

The next day the phone rang and it was the production company PLUS 2 executives of their company – all pitching to me their ideas, their company, they were listening to all my concerns and I laid out for them every issue I had…and they very genuinely said they would resolve every issue – including one specific issue being that I did not want to do any taping until 2013… I needed more time…and they were willing to wait on me.  Wow – they were rolling out the red carpet – how could I say no?  I had no reasons left!  They resolved EVERY single one!

I hung up the phone CONFUSED!  I mean head spinning – heart beating fast – God where are you and why are you making this SO hard to figure my way through this maze!  Is this you or is this not you God?  Is this a test or an open door – what in the world is all of this?  And why 4 times???

Well – I did make a decision but it’s not based on a whole lot…just my confusion…or the thought that if this was God’s will I would not feel so confused.  I begged God to speak – but faced a lot of silence this week.  My husband was okay with me going forward with the process but I sent an email last night telling them I’ve decided to not go forward.  Angela has been praying all week and seeking God’s will for her.  She sensed this was not in his plans for her and she was scheduled for her skype on Tuesday – it fell through, Wednesday- it fell through and then she was rescheduled for Friday morning and she woke up with pink eye - I personally think it was a sign to say “no”  So she is out also.  The other girls are going forward until God shows them clearly yes or no also.

 I have to admit I am frustrated…frustrated that I said no – thinking I was being faithful to God and his calling on my life to write and then they called back and offered me more…why did God allow that to happen and make me even more confused?  And then Angela got this beautiful clear sign – pink eye (sorry Ang I know that’s no fun to have but really it’s awesome to see how clear that was for her) and here I sit wondering – did I make the right decision?  

Okay – I know this is the wierdest blog post I may have ever written lol!  There’s no verses or any real teaching game plan here…just a girl telling her on-line friends about a crazy scenario that has confused her tremendously this week.  I hope I don’t regret this post – if I do – you will see it disappear lol!…but maybe – just maybe someone is out there tonight praying and asking God for guidance and they aren’t getting a clear cut answer.  I know what you are feeling – you can’t always pause life and wait for something clear cut…sometimes you have to make decisions based on what God has done in your life in the past and move forward in faith. 

I have to admit that I don’t feel great about my decision and that I honestly can’t say I’m 100% sure I made the right one – isn’t that wild that I’m that confused!  Well…I don’t even have anything profound to say to try to wrap up this post – I’m at a loss for words… I’m exhausted from this inner tug-of-war, I’ve been greatly humbled this week and if a 5th opportunity comes I might just take a leap lol! – yep those are the words of a conflicted girl aren’t they…

Walk with the King,

**Please note the updates to Angela’s story…I neglected to say that her first two attempts at skyping also fell through.  So after much prayer -(and sensing this was not God’s will for her), seeking her husband’s counsel and then the skype appointments falling through – she decided to not go forward.  After telling the production company “no” she has complete peace.

I remember going out for Mother’s Day to a buffet with all my extended family. As we stood in line, the discussion of how we would do seating began. First one sister spoke up, then another, then I had an opinion and so did my mother. From there, the husbands chimed in and gave their 2 cents and as our family rattled on trying to resolve the seating issue, I looked at my sister’s husband – the pastor – and said – “you are awfully quiet, what do you think?” His answer still makes me laugh…

“I think there’s a lot of chiefs and not enough Indians here.”

Everyone was trying to lead and no one wanted to be the follower. The reality is, I’m from a family of strong leaders. I could go one by one through each person and make a long list of ways they have been leading – from being pastors and deacons to Bible study directors and Bible study leaders, an on-line leader, youth leaders, urban ministry leaders, Titus 2 Workshop leaders, mentorship leaders, retreat speakers, and more.

When I look at my family – I see a legacy of leadership. My parents effectively raised their 3 daughters to follow in their footsteps and God provided 3 Godly men for us to marry and follow in leadership. Now the next generation comes behind us and I wonder, how will we effectively pass on this legacy of leadership?

 Join me over at MomHeart.org today where I am sharing ways I am raising my children to be leaders.

Walk with the King,

From time to time, I get emails from other bloggers asking me for advice on how to start their blog or grow their blog.  While it makes me squirm to talk about numbers and techniques…because truly God’s fingerprints are all over the increase of my blog…I want to spill the beans about some of the things I have done to grow my blog. 

My prayer is that this information will help other Christian bloggers grow their audience so together we can make a difference.  The internet can be a dark place but together we can pierce the darkness as we shine our lights for the world to see!

Matthew 5:14-16 “You are the light of the world…let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

So if you are a blogger or you are thinking about starting a blog – join me over at Allume this morning where I’m talking about My Journey to 5000 Followers.

Walk with the King,

So I kept a little secret from you all last week (via my husband’s request)…I was blogging from Disney World!!!  

So last Wednesday when I mentioned that I had a whole bunch of plans and my daughter was sick…it was right on the day that we were scheduled to attend a special dinner where you meet all of the princesses Big bummer – she missed it.  But she’s over it now lol!

This was our family’s first trip to Disney World!  We went to Epcot (and got majorly rained on lol!), Hollywood Studios

the Animal Kingdom – which we loved…

And then back to the Magic Kingdom a second time.

If you are a child of God – you are a daughter of the one true King!  We belong to a royal kingdom!  Forget Magic Kingdom – I’ll take God’s kingdom thank you very much !

 Walk with the King,

It’s my favorite day of the week! It’s Women Living Well’s Wednesday Link-Up Party!!!

Join the fun, do a little blog hopping and don’t forget if you join below -please add the Women Living Well Wednesdays button to your post so your readers can find us here! (Posts can include the topics of marriage, parenting, homemaking, homeschooling, finances, recipes, organization and more!)

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So we’ve all heard the list of priorities we should have – God first, then our husband, children, home and others.

Opportunities to make our husband a priority present themselves everyday but sometimes there’s so many other people in our lives with needs that our husband…the man we make love to – comes in dead last.

Visit me over at RooMag.com today where I give a list of practical ways we can show our husbands they are our first priority.

Walk with the King,

photo credit: Time Warp Wife 

Welcome back to week 2 of our 14 week series in Proverbs 31! 

If you are wondering what chapters we will be covering this summer - print out the reading plan by clicking here.  It gives you a week by week schedule of reading in the Proverbs 31 ebook  (available free here) AND an extra Bible reading plan for your daily quiet times!

Now let me introduce you to my High School BFF – in case you haven’t met her already…

This is Angela – a wife to her high school sweet heart, a mommy of 3 little girls, and the lead chick over at GoodMorningGirls.org where they are posting about the Proverbs 31 woman 3 days a week (Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays).  She and I are taking turns making videos for this series – so it’s her turn this week!

Last week – we looked at Proverbs 31:1-9. (click here to view my intro video) 

This week we are looking at Proverbs 31:10,11.

¹⁰ A wife of noble character who can find?
She is worth far more than rubies.
¹¹ Her husband has full confidence in her
and lacks nothing of value.

Here’s Angela’s thoughts – you will see why I LOVE this girl – she is SUCH an encourager!!!

 

 
(If you cannot see the video above – click here.)

Week 2 Challenge: This week focus on being a woman of noble character…a woman that your husband can take full confidence in! Remember: You and God are an amazing team together! Keep your eyes on Jesus, pray and ask Him to help you be the woman He created YOU to be! Ask Him for help……we can never become who He has created us to be without it! Pray and then ACT……..act upon what He shows you!:)

Thank you Angela for that challenge and I would encourage you to evaluate yourself…are there any areas where your husband may not fully trust you? 

Does your husband trust your spending, your training of the children, your ability to run the home, your words that you speak about him when he is not in the room, your faithfulness to him in regards to flirting with other men, your emotions and temper, and the choices you make? 

Trust is the first virtue on the list of virtues of the Proverbs 31 woman. 

Evaluate yourself, confess any areas where you have fallen short, commit your weaknesses to prayer this week and make a change! 

Walk with the King,

Ps. Don’t forget to visit GoodMorningGirls.org this week for more on this topic!