waking up to winter on new years eve

THIS Is The Day

It seems as though I have heard a whisper in my ear since the day both of my children were born, reminding me to live for the day, to enjoy the process, to not wish the time away, daily... minute by minute...

As I have observed and listened I have also learned a lot from things I have heard others say such as...

"I sure wish she'd learn to sleep through the night!"

"Life will be easier when he can EAT something, and he's not so dependent on ME!"

"Diapers are so expensive. It'll be nice when she's potty trained."

(TICK...TICK...TICK..TICK...)

"I wish she'd learn to walk..."

"All she knows how to say is "NO!"

"All I do is chase her around all day!"

"It'll be nice when she can talk, and tell me what she wants!"

(TICK...TICK...TICK...TICK...)

"Just think, soon she'll be in kindergarten, and I'll have some time to myself!"

"I need a break!"

"Boy is it hard getting up early and driving them to school every day!"

"I look forward to the day when I can sleep in again!"

(TICK...TICK...TICK..TICK...)

"I think we need a bigger house..."

"My husband wants another job..."

"My kids need a bigger yard..."

"These kids sure do make a mess!"

(TICK...TICK...TICK...TICK...)

"She sure does talk a lot!"

"I feel like all I do is drive my kids around! I'm exhausted!"

"It was so much easier when they were little!"

"I don't FEEL like shopping for clothes with my daughter."

(TICK...TICK...TICK...TICK...)

Recently my husband and I were helping my daughter with an essay she has to write for one of her college classes. COLLEGE?! Oh, Lord.... Have I enjoyed the process? I am reminded of a song by Nicole Nordeman that says: "I'm going to live for today, I'm going to follow in Your way, I'm going to let my little light shine like there's no tomorrow..."

How can we, as moms, be a light? By rejoicing in and enjoying the process, and living for today.


This is the day which the LORD hath made;
we will rejoice and be glad in it.
~ Psalm 118:24


IT WILL PASS SO FAST... DON'T WISH IT AWAY!

The process may be hard and some details are more challenging than others, but we can rejoice in them, and even enjoy them if we choose the right perspective. GOD'S PERSPECTIVE. GOD'S CALLING. AND A WATCHING WORLD...WATCHING HOW WE WILL LIVE THE DETAILS OF OUR CALLING.

So, enjoy the process and "let that little light shine like there's no tomorrow!!"


Our guest today is Gina, a Christ follower, who desires to glorify God in all that she does. Gina became a self proclaimed "old lady" after reading and studying what the Bible says, in Titus 2, about the role of "older women." She prays that she will continue to grow into that role, and most importantly, to LIVE OUT THE GOSPEL and live life WITH you!

You can find her blogging at "Chats With An Old Lady" where she is continually growing and challenging readers to also grow in their faith.

For questions or comments, contact Gina through her website: click here

beautiful and bare

Your Marriage Problems are All in Your Head

I’m not saying you are crazy.

But I am saying that your thought patterns affect your marriage. I remember sitting at the dinner table with my daughter in her high chair and my 2-year-old son, watching the clock. Tick tock tick tock. These thoughts ran through my mind, “Why is my husband 20 minutes late? He knows the kids are hungry and can’t wait.” Tick tock tick tock. “He is 30 minutes late and hasn’t even called. If he loved me he would at least call”. Tick tock tick tock. “This is so boring just sitting here with 2 children who can’t even carry a conversation--why is he doing this to me?”

Finally, the garage door went up, and how do you think I greeted him at the door? Since I had spent 30 minutes brewing angry thoughts, guess what came out of my mouth? Angry words.



The good man brings good things out of the
good stored up in his heart, and the evil
man brings evil things out of the evil stored
up in his heart. For out of the overflow of
his heart his mouth speaks.
~ Luke 6:45
Imagine you had a cup of hot tea in your hand and your husband bumped your arm and it spilled onto the table. What came out of the cup? Hot tea. If you had coffee, then coffee would have spilled out.

In the same way, if you are filling your mind with bitter thoughts towards your husband, then when your “cup gets bumped” what’s going to spill out? Bitter words. But if your mind is filled with good thoughts, then when your “cup gets bumped” what is going to spill out? Compassion and forgiveness.

What have you stored up in your heart towards your husband? Are your thoughts of him good? They were when you were dating! Many of our marriage problems begin in our heads--in our thought patterns. If we play a recording over and over of selfish and bitter thoughts then we can expect to have a bumpy ride in marriage.

Here’s how this dinner scenario went once I matured and learned that getting into "World War III" with my husband is more miserable than eating dinner alone:

It’s dinner time, tick tock tick tock… ”He’s late again. He knows I hate this so he must have something really important to finish up. I am so blessed to have a good man who works so hard. We have food on the table and warm beds because of him. There are widows eating alone tonight. They don’t even know where their next meal will come from. I will wait peacefully for my husband to come through the door.”

And when he arrived he was greeted with warm hugs, kisses and the promises of warm intimacy in bed. Extreme, you may ask? Not at all. It’s disciplining our minds to stop evil thoughts and create good thoughts.

When a plain ordinary wife spends her day thinking thankful, loving and respectful thoughts about her plain ordinary husband, they can have an extraordinary marriage. Start today to weed out bitter thoughts in your mind and begin to plant seeds of thankfulness. In no time your marriage will be extraordinary too!

© Courtney Joseph, 2010


I'm taking a couple of days off of blogging to spend time with my husband who's on Christmas vacation this week. But while I'm away, we're blessed to have a visitor.

My guest blogger today is Courtney Joseph from Women Living Well. She has been married to her high school sweet heart for over twelve years, home schools her son and daughter and is a graduate of the Moody Bible Institute. [Psssst: She's also a good friend of mine!] Courtney's passion to see women living well landed her on the Rachael Ray Show in November, 2009. Since then, she blogs regularly about marriage according to God’s Word. And that's exactly the kind of marriage we want, right ladies?!

For comments or questions, contact Courtney through her blog at: Women Living Well

upcycled holiday sparkle earrings

Before you throw out all that holiday decor, cards and wrapping paper, take a second look- perhaps there is a unique way to recycle or upcycle all that Christmas sparkle? I decided to turn all of my metallic wrapping and decoration into some sparkly earrings- just in time for New Years Eve!

Tinsel, while messy can be used to create sparkly paper.

Use card stock, thick paper or even recycle the inside of greeting cards (like I did).

Cover the surface with a thick layer of craft glue, gel medium or modge podge.

Trim the tinsel over the paper so that it sticks to the glue.

Let dry completely.

The result is a thick piece of sparkly paper that can be used to create all kinds simple jewelry.

Cut out simple shapes

Use dimensional paint to add little details.

Paint or decorate the back- optional

Cut out small shapes and using jump rings, stack the shapes for dramatic dangle earrings.

Use leftover metallic wrapping (or any pretty wrapping for that matter) to create rolled roses. (my tutorial is here)

Fill the middle with beads.

Glue to posts for a small and pretty set of earrings.

Use wrapping paper and roll into beads.

Use those paper beads and stack them on wire with alternating beads for a set of long dangle earrings.

And there you have it a brand new collection of sparkle earrings ready for a New Years Eve Party!