Friday Favorites-Giveaway

 

So excited to start my "Friday Favorite Giveaways" SO thankful for each of you who are visiting my blog and willing to share it. My prayer is that it will continue to bless you and those you share it with.

Happy Friday Friends!

Giveaway rules:

1) Share this blog post on Facebook and comment on this post letting me know that you shared it-1ENTRY

2) Comment on this blog post and tell me what your favorite thing is about your family-1 ENTRY

The giveaway will end on Sunday at 12:00pm and the winner will be announced by Monday morning.

Battle on the Homefront

Hi friends, I am so excited to share with you again and so grateful you are taking this time out of your busy day to read my blog.
    Although I am in a new season of my life that allows me more time for myself, I feel the Lord is continually tugging at me to share the things He has laid heavily on  heart lately. You've heard the saying "Man is not an island" Well what that means is that we were not created to live an introverted, isolated (all about me) life. We were created to make a difference in this world and the lives of those around us. I have to say when I was home with 5 children, buried in laundry and dishes, and homeschooling ,there were many days I felt like an island, isolated from the real world, I thought.  Friends, even during these busy, crazy days I knew that what I was doing was making a difference. In a small way, mistakes and all I was doing my part to train these precious lives to love and serve the Lord.
     You see, our place and role in the home is a God appointed, God ordained , calling on our lives.
This is where it all begins, and also where Satan roams and seeks to destroy. He (Satan) is very crafty and smart. He knows very well that if he can destroy the home, he can reek havoc on a nation. Believe it or not history shows that when women began to leave the home and go back into the work force, this nation began to crumble. Why? Is it because we lost our focus? Well you could say that but what really happened was that Satan knew that the home was the battlefront and to rage war there was his only hope of stopping or slowing down the furtherance of Gods kingdom. Before I go any further, please hear my heart on this. I am not saying that every women should or can be home day in and day out. What I am saying is that when we step outside of our biblical role as women, due to longing for the things of this world , we run a great risk of allowing the enemy to creep in little by little and do his damage. Statistics show that when women went back into the work force in the 1960's, sexual immorality, divorce , child abuse and neglect, crime and promiscuity among teens and the list goes on; began to run ramped. Not a one of us can deny that a lot of what we see in our world today is because of the neglect or disappearance of a mother or father at home  fighting off the enemy.
   Does this mean we are to physically be present in our homes day and night ,no but it does mean that when we are home we are to be  "present". Instilling Gods word in our children, eye contact (put away the smart phones), prayer, scripture memory, family outings and game time, family and corporate worship. These are all weapons that are all mighty in defeating the enemy and winning the war! We can defeat the one who is out to steal, kill and destroy Gods most precious creation, and tool for furthering His kingdom, the family!   I challenge you to take hold of these weapons, even if they need a little dusting off, and fight! God is on your side , He is just waiting for you to embrace role, take up your weapons and fight!
"These things I have spoken to you that you may have peace. In this world you will have tribulation;
but be of good cheer , I have overcome the world. John 16:33
      

Love is a Choice

Well,  I  have been married to my wonderful husband 34 years. I can hardly believe it ,but can still remember that evening very well. The most astounding part to me is that, as excited and in love I was at that time it just doesn't compare to the love and excitement we now share as a couple. A good marriage truly does get better with time. Has our marriage always been perfect, by no means. A good marriage takes work, forgiveness, grace, unconditional love and most of all ,an attitude of unselfishness! Yes, I do believe when you commit to a spouse it should be with the mindset that this is a covenant with the Lord until death do us part. Only under circumstances out of our control should divorce ever be an option and even then I truly believe Gods heart is to ultimately seek restoration if possible. To receive the rewards of a long and strong marriage you have to faithfully pray and seek the Lord daily. Our marriage is by no means perfect but we do serve a perfect God who created marriage to be the perfect picture of his love for his bride ,the church, and his commitment to her.

Marriage is Gods way of preparing us for eternity. How exciting to be apart of something so much bigger than we are. So thankful that we are all apart of His master plan. We "choose" to make our marriages work. And it is work wouldn't you agree! Our initial "In Love" feelings are not always there or may have been lost for some time. Our marriage is a testimony of this, during the childrearing years our relationship struggled, and I turned 30, the midlife crisis age for most women.  I was up to my ears in diapers and sleepless nights and my hard working husband was gone many nights. "This isn't how it supposed to be, what happened to my storybook marriage". I often felt distant and very tired! I cried out to the Lord and looked to his word for wisdom.  In bible times, marriages were arranged (Don't think that is such a bad idea these days:), There was no time to "Fall in love". They were just married and that was that. After reading these stories over and over ,I realized something, love was a CHOICE! They choose to obey God and the covenant of marriage He had placed them in. And guess what? The feelings followed. This was a revelation in my marriage, and once I committed to making that choice daily, things began to change . You see, my attitude and choice to love changed me and that changed everything. Ladies whether we like it or not we set the tone of the home. Our speech ,emotions and body language,  are key the second our husbands walk in the door. My choice to love ,followed by a lot of prayer and bible study each day, made all the difference. Side note: if you want your husband to change, pray that the Lord will change you first.
It doesn't happen over night but I promise the Lord will bless your "Choice".

No greater JOY!

I recently experienced the birth of our new precious granddaughter. As the grandmother, of now 2 grandchildren, I can honestly say they do CHANGE your life! It is hard to explain the emotions you experience as you watch this precious new life come into this world. I must say I watched in awe as my daughter gave birth and the miracle of it all. The pain of labor on her face, and then the joy as she held her child for the first time. As a mother it is so precious to watch your own daughter experience this life changing event. This is truly a season of life to treasure. I am so grateful to the Lord for how he fills our empty nest with the gift of grandchildren. There is truly no greater JOY!

Turning 50

I love this time of year and all it brings. Cool air, flowers in bloom, birds singing and just an overall "newness of life" feeling. I'm reminded each spring even more of what it means to be
a NEW creature in Christ. My father always reminds me when I speak of getting older, that even though our outward body is wasting away, spiritually we are becoming younger each day. This thought of getting older is presently a fresh thought in my mind as I will be turning 50 next week. I don't feel that old except after I have worked all day on my feet ,drive 50 minutes home and then after sitting in the car, can hardly get out. Yes, my physical bones are decaying I can feel it!
How then shall we live? What should be our primary focus? Exercise and eating right are good things to preserve our physical body but what about our spiritual one? We our preparing our spiritual body for eternity each and every day as we spend time in His word and prayer. I pray you are seeking this renewal in your spiritual walk with our Savior! The bible says "Lest we become childlike in our faith, we will not inherit the kingdom of God." This childlike faith comes as we grow more into His likeness. So even though this earthy shell of ours is dying each day our spiritual body is becoming younger and younger. Isn't that an exciting thought! As His children He is getting us ready for a NEW LIFE with Him for eternity! Im sure looking forward to that
"BIRTH DAY!

The Road of Loneliness

Have you ever been in a crowded room and still felt all alone. What about in your own church with brothers and sisters in Christ who smile and say a casual hello ,but fail to take interest in or invest in the lives of others who so desire fellowship with other believers. So many times we think of being lonely as physically being alone, total quite and solitude, but this is not the kind of loneliness I am referring too. Just some examples: A workplace where values and convictions differ can bring about feelings of loneliness. A wife who longs to share spiritual intimacy with her mate. A group of women who all work outside the home and you are stay at home mom. Just to name a few, each of these scenarios, can result in feeling alone.
It is always easier to take the road of blending in, just to feel accepted and apart. Living a set apart life for Christ is not always a comfortable and cozy place to be. I have often felt lonely for not being one to partake in gossip involving other women. When you are not a gossiper you are left out of many a female conversation , sadly to say. As I was thinking about this topic , I was reminded of how lonely our Savior must have felt at times in living such a "set apart" lifestyle . Christ was so criticized, judged and rejected by his own, so called peers, the Pharisees. These were men who were considered the most "religious" people of that time. I use the word "religious" loosely since religion does not always involve a relationship with a living Savior. In the Pharisees case, they had the head knowledge followed by rules and regulations without an evident heart and life change. They were truly lost in need of a savior. Christ continued to take the narrow road less traveled because he could see the prize at the end. The bible says we are in a race as believers. Most runners run alone and keep their eyes on the goal, which is to finish the race. For us as wives and mothers there can be many distractions, how we spend our time being the biggest one. For example; shopping, tv, vacation planning , make-up and clothing , all so called "good" things but may not always be the "wise" thing. We can with Lords help, keep our focus on the goal of the upward calling of Christ Jesus. A good question to always ask ourselves is; " Will this activity bring Glory to God and or is it something that will help further His kingdom here on earth?" Try not shopping for a few weeks ,except for necessities, and you will be amazed at the time you now have available to focus on things of eternal value. It can be life changing if you are willing to give up such earthly pleasures. Our time is short and the road can be lonely but we as women , lonely or not , must run to the finish line to the hear the words ; "Well done my good and faithful daughter, you have finished well." Oh, how I pray to hear those words spoken of my life and my prayer is that you do as well.

Oh Those Winter Days

I have to say that even though I like cold weather,hot chocolate, warms fires and blankets, I"m very much a Florida sunshine girl. After a while it becomes somewhat depressing to me and I am ready for spring and summer. What I am getting at is that seasons and weather do very much affect our emotions and state of being, not so much as a child maybe, but as an adult very much so. I start to feel like I am hibernating some days and begin to miss the day to day contact with others. SO...... my solution to fighting these emotions you ask? Well, I begin by asking the Lord to show me others that may be in the same type of situation whether it be elderly that are housebound or sick friends or just someone who may be feeling likewise, and you know what He always does. I always remember a pastor who once said; "When you start to feel down focus on what you can do for others" I have never forgotten that over the years and thus have tried to take my focus off myself and in turn focus on the needs of others. So, if you are feeling somewhat "down" on these long winter days "get out and reach out" and all of that will change. The Lord is the author and creator of our well being and emotions and that is why He tells us to "Love our neighbor as our self", feed the hungry, care for the needy, not just because they need it but how much we need it also. I challenge you today that whatever state of being you are in to reach out to a lonely and hurting world, it is all around us if we will just take our eyes off ourselves and pray that we view the world around us through Christs eyes. "By this they will know that you are my disciples if you love one another". Thank you Lord that you always have our best interest in mind if we will just heed your WORD!