ENCOURAGEMENT

Lisa-Jo Baker challenges us every Friday to write. Just write.  No editing, no over-thinking, no backtracking (that's the hardest one for me - no backtracking!  Yeah, I see the error.).  For five minutes - and no more - with her prompt.

Today's prompt is "ENCOURAGEMENT".  I will be linking this post over there. Come join the challenge!

Timer's set.

Go.

She always says I’m pretty.  That I look so amazing that day.  She tell me that I glow.  She says I look so good in my outfit.

She makes me want to be her friend.  She makes me want to stay close. 

I smile when I see her coming my way.  She brightens up my day.

Now, I don’t always think all those things, but when she says them, I want to believe them.  It makes me stand a little taller.  She makes me want to smile back.  To say wonderful things to others. 

Her brightening my day makes me want to brighten someone else’s day.  To pay it forward.

You see, the compliments don’t flow off my tongue.  Not that I don’t think things; it just sometimes feels awkward to say them.  But, she makes me feel brave.  She makes me want to be her when I grow up.

She gives me strength that I can pass on to others.  She builds me up and often doesn't know how very much I need that building up. 

She encourages me.  To live up to who I am.  Or who I am supposed to be.  To whose I am.

Thank you, friend.  You are my hero.

STOP.  Time's up.

SEE

Lisa-Jo Baker challenges us every Friday to write. Just write.  No editing, no over-thinking, no backtracking (that's the hardest one for me - no backtracking!).  For five minutes - and no more - with her prompt.  Today's prompt is "SEE".  I will be linking this post over there.

“Prepare your shields, both large and small,
    and march out for battle!
Harness the horses,
    mount the steeds!
Take your positions
    with helmets on!
Polish your spears,
    put on your armor!
What do I see?
    They are terrified,
they are retreating,
    their warriors are defeated.
They flee in haste
    without looking back,
    and there is terror on every side,”
declares the Lord.

             Jeremiah 46:3-5

Go.

This has been a favorite Scripture passage since a man in our church years ago put it to music.  A fight song.

It speaks to me of the importance of preparation -- of both the large and small things.  When one is prepared, he can be a fearsome adversary.  And he may not even have to fight!  The enemy sees him and is terrified!

I see this even in the every day tasks and chores.  The big and small ones.

When we prepare ourselves, the "enemies" -- you know, those things that seem to get in our way and trip us up -- even them -- see us, and retreat!  They know that we can beat them.  That those tasks, chores, and whatnot will disappear when faced with our preparedness.

Ah, but that preparedness takes work, too. Polishing, harnessing, dressing.

Stop.

My Signature Style

About two and a half weeks ago, I took one of those fun online quizzes regarding one's decorating style.  (You can find it on the Home Goods website.)  You pick five pictures that "speak to you" and it will tell you your decorating style. Well, my style turned out to be "Farmhouse Glam" -- such as hanging chandeliers above picnic tables!  I hadn't had a name for it, but felt, yes, this is so me!  I took it again today, not remembering what images I picked last time. Guess what?  I got the same results.  So, yeah, I think it's probably safe to say this my style.

Last January, Darlene over at Fieldstone Hill Design challenged her readers to make a Signature Style Board.  I saw it yesterday on Pinterest (which I love) and since I just started playing around with PicMonkey, I figured this would be a good project for me.  This is what I came up with:

It was really hard to pick only nine pictures.  I chose these from my Pinterest boards and I've really pinned a whole bunch in the past couple of years (I joined Pinterest back when you had to be approved!)  I love these pictures, but feel really bad for all the pics that weren't chosen; I really like them, too! So, if you want to see everything else I've pinned, come follow me by clicking here.

What do you think?  Have I found my signature style?

ONE WORD

So, it has been almost two years since I've written here. Time flies when you're procrastinating, doesn't it?

The first day of the New Year is always so promising.  We look forward with such bright hopes and dreams.  I love it.

I love a brand new calendar, new blank notepads for all those lists I love to write, and this year, a gorgeous new planner!

It's so pretty, it's almost hard to write in it!

Resolutions, I'm not so good at.  But I love picking one word as the theme and goal for the year.  

2010 was YES.

2011 was FREEDOM.

2012 was RELEASE.

2013 was DREAM.

2014 is HEALTH!

I definitely need to get my physical health back, but I know this word encompasses so much more than just that (as important as that is right now).

Luke 2:52 tells us that Jesus grew intellectually, physically, spiritually and socially.

"And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man."

This year, 2014, I'm planning on increasing in the same manner! 

One thing I think is important to this increase is meeting you (if there's still anyone out there) right here on a more regular basis.  So...

HAPPY NEW YEAR and a toast to HEALTH!  See you soon!

(and maybe we'll catch up a bit, too!)

The Provision Room

I am so excited about a brand new blog called The Provision Room, named in honor of Five Little Peppers and How They Grew.  (You can get a free Kindle copy of the book here.)  My daughter and her friend have a vision for their homes and lives that can help all of us out, too!  


The mission for their blog in their words:

To prepare our homes—kitchens, pantries, and gardens—to be ready in case of emergencies or unexpected life changes. To do so we will not increase our food budgets nor cause our family to subsist on bread and water. We will strive for the following ideals:

~Real Food
We will not recommend you go out and buy food-like substances, just because they have a shelf life. We will learn to make Real Food last.

~Organic, local and sustainable whenever possible
This is not always possible, but is a lot more possible than people think. We’ll try to show you how we feed our families while being true to our values.

~Frugality
We will search out things that are genuinely good deals and not just short term solutions. We will strive to be good stewards of the family finances.

~Environmentally friendly
We will try to find ways to store our food and stock our pantries without resorting to a bunch of disposables that overfill already overfull landfills.

~Transparency
We will not act like we have all the answers and will show you our mistakes and learn to laugh at them!


They are also on Facebook charming us all!  You can also read more about them on the Prosperous and Successful blog were they are being featured this week.


This week they are having an pretty fantastic giveaway to celebrate their grand opening with all kinds of chances to win.  They are giving away a $50 gift card to Azure Standard, an autographed book entitled Year of Plenty that I can't wait to read, and a case of Venice Premium Biscotti.  How fun is that?!  The giveaway ends tomorrow (Wednesday) night, so hurry on over the party!

River Arvin

River Arvin Gombojav was dedicated to the Lord by his parents on Friday, February 3.  His four-month birthday.


As is my custom, I celebrated by giving him a little reception after.  So fun.

An almost finished table:

Taffy bouquet, milk was served in the little milk bottles

with blue-striped paper straw flags with River's name,

cupcake fondue with fun sprinkles and toppings, and a cafe latte punch.

And zigzag streamers.

His mother blogged all about it over at in other words....  Go on over and be blessed by the goodness of God.

Baggage

For the past couple of Wednesdays, a sweet, timid, middle-aged woman has been showing up at church.  She comes in with a large backpack and about four or five more bags filled with who knows what.  She tucks them all around her on the floor.  She doesn't want any help bringing them in from her car or through the door.  If someone touches her or them, she gets a bit frantic.  From what she says and does, I realize that she is coping with mental illness.


As I watched her, I realized that she wasn't the only one who had brought extra baggage to church that night. Oh, some of us hid it better than she did, but we still came in juggling bags and then tucked them nice and tight around us.  They do help insulate us.  And help build a protective wall.


How do I know there were others with baggage?  Well, some have let me peek into some of their bags.  So I know some of what they're carrying.  But, basically I know because I brought in all kinds of baggage with me that night.  Some helped insulate me.  Some just made it hard to juggle the rest.


Jesus asks us to lay all of our stuff at His feet. (1 Peter 5:7)  If we seem to get a bit frantic at that thought, He doesn't grab or snatch the stuff out of our hands.  Can you imagine the searing pain of that? No, instead He comes along side of us, puts His loving arms around us, asks us to open just one bag, and then lovingly helps us unpack.