Tomatoes Preaching

On Saturday, after working my shift at the Crown Realty booth at the Cider Mill, my mom and I took the kids on the Miami County Farm Tour.  We stopped at a delightful little farm (Metcalf & 327th) - Foxfire Farm and picked strawberries and bought (8!!!) tomato plants.

Saturday evening McKenzie broke out with a terrible rash and her knees & elbows were swollen and hot to the touch.  At first, I thought maybe she'd had an allergic reaction to the strawberries - although she's eaten them many times before and these are organic, pesticide free, so I couldn't imagine these would be worse than any others she's had.  In fact, they were so incredibly delicious and perfect!  Sunday (Mother's Day), we went to the walk-in clinic at our family practice (College Park Family) and found out she had strep!  24 hours of antibiotics and steroids later, she was back to her normal cheery crazy self.

So, long story short, my 8 beautiful tomato plants sat in my dark garage for 2 days.  They were wilty and browning.  Cut off from sunlight & water, they were dying quickly.  Monday evening, the kids and I got them planted, watered from our rain barrel, and they instantly perked up.  2 days later, they are really thriving.  They smell so wonderful and we can't wait to pick some beautiful tomatoes!

All of this has gotten me thinking.  Reminding me how much my life is like those tomato plants.  One day disconnected from God's Word and prayer connection with Him, and I am worse off than these little plants.  Wilted.  Worn out.  Unable to produce fruit.  Thankfully, it just takes time in His life-giving presence to perk right up.  Thankful for that truth!

Book Review: "Love, Skip, Jump"

Love, Skip, Jump: Start Living the Adventure of Yes by Shelene Bryan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was crying in the first 10 pages. This book is just a wonderful, beautiful work of art filled with stories about what saying "Yes" to God can look like. Shelene Bryan starts off with comparing the Kingdom of God to "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" and I was HOOKED. She's brilliantly creative and honest as she shares with us how she learned to broaden her vision of the world and her place in it as a child of God.

Intrigued by the title? I was! In a nutshell, here's what it's about...

LOVE - God loves us in such a grand way that if we had even a slight understanding of it, it would change everything.

"Gratitude for such amazing, undeserved love will compel us to give of ourselves and our treasure. His inexplicable love toward us will become the motivation for all we do." (xviii)

"The fact that such a majestic God does not treat us like ants to be crushed is wonderful and phenomenal all at the same time." (32)

SKIP - the attitude of self-denial in order to give to someone else.

JUMP - the action of doing something... the adventure!

"If you are not using your God-given gifts to help others, you've got to expend some energy to get moving. You have got to jump." (43)

I truly believe (and have experienced it in my own life) that following God is an ADVENTURE, so I loved that Shelene's subtitle is "Start Living the Adventure of Yes," and I'm so thankful she shared some of her adventures with us! Drawing on her experiences from travelling all over the world, witnessing God's amazing direction and provision, and allowing herself to get a little uncomfortable for the advancement of God's kingdom, Shelene inspires us all to do love, skip, jump in ways we maybe never thought we could or would! I highly recommend this one!

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers <http://booklookbloggers.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Book Review: "A Woman After God's Own Heart"

A Woman After God's Own Heart by Elizabeth George
My rating: 5 of 5 stars






Great book on sorting through our priorities as Christian women.

#1 God
#2 Husband
#3 Kids
#4 Home
#5 My Spiritual Growth
#6 My Ministry Activities
#7 Other Activities

The only thing I found a little disheartening about the book is that it definitely assumes stay-at-home mom. I'm sort of a hybrid work-at-home, work-outside-the-home mom in my life and career, so I did find some parts a little hard to reconcile. But, to be fair, she does address this in the updated version and comments that when she wrote it less than half of Christian mothers worked outside the home, and now over 70% do. My biggest failure in this area (I feel) is taking care of the home. I don't have fresh-cut flowers, perfectly clean rooms, or a home-cooked meal every night, though I would love to, it's probably just not too realistic this stage of our lives. Plus, Eli's not coming home for dinner every night (he's coming home for breakfast after 24-hour shifts!).

That being said, the basics are so timeless! Time with God helps us grow and impact others exponentially.

One of my personal favorite takeaways from this book is Elizabeth's advise to create "Five Fat Files" - to pick 5 areas that I want to grow in and fill it with articles, notes, etc. to help me learn that topic with the goal of becoming an EXPERT. Examples she gave include hospitality, health, child-raising, home-making, Bible-study methods, attributes of God, fruits of the Spirit, biblical counseling, teaching, heroes of the faith, parenting, organization, holiness, etc.

I think I am going to modernize the concept with either Pinterest boards or an Evernote notebook for my "Five Fat Files."

1. Raising Kids to Love Jesus
2. Intimacy in Marriage
3. Christian Leadership in the Workplace
4. Slow Food (http://www.slowfoodusa.org/) also inspired by another awesome book I'm reading - Notes from a Blue Bike: The Art of Living Intentionally in a Chaotic World - more on that later!
5. Time Management!

This is a read, but my favorite Elizbeth George book (so far) is still Life Management for Busy Women: Living Out God's Plan with Passion & Purpose!

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Good Morning Girls - You Are Loved

I've shared with you here before how much I love the Good Morning Girls and their awesome Bible study ministry, I've done everything they offered over the last 9 months or so, but when they announced their summer study was a book study (albeit an awesome one written by 2 very awesome women, Angela Perritt & Sally Clarkson), I wasn't sure I'd be in.  Then, last Monday, I got my GMG email and I noticed they were still using scripture along with the book, so I thought I'd give it a shot.

I thought a study on "You Are Loved" would be too basic for me to get anything out of.  This is so foolish I know.  Did I really think God couldn't speak to me through His Word and 2 very godly female authors?  But honestly, I was thinking to myself "I get that God loves me, I'm good on this."  Then, I started reading these first verses...

WOW!

Check out Zephaniah 3:17 for yourself, but here it is:

The Lord your God is in your midst, 

a mighty one who will save; 

he will rejoice over you with gladness; 

 he will quiet you by his love; 

he will exult over you with loud singing.
(ESV)

All last week's verses were awesome, but this one really spoke to me. God rejoices over me and exults over me with singing? Singing? God? It's too amazing to take in really. And oh, how I need him to quiet me at times. I'm thanking God for this "simple" Bible study that I thought I would get nothing out of! Feel free to join along too, and let me know if you're doing it! (It's also available as a plan on the Bible app!).

• Buy "You Are Loved" on Amazon.
• Get connected with GMG!
• Read, study, grow!

Good Morning Girls' New Study

I've been semi-following Good Morning Girls' blog for probably a couple years now, but never actually participated in one of their Bible studies until this past fall when they were doing one in Luke... and I loved it!  It has really changed how I spend my quiet time with God (quantity, quality, AND consistency), and how I study the Bible!

They use what is called the "SOAP Method."  I'll show you what mine looked like today:

SCRIPTURE: read Ephesians 5:1-14 then wrote out Ephesians 5:1.  This is really helpful to me to write out the verse, forces me to FOCUS.

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.

OBSERVATION: One thing that struck me today is that I want to imitate God so that Micah & Kenzie will imitate God.  They imitate Eli and I in so many ways, and I think as "beloved children" that is how God wants us to be too!  I also realized that you can not imitate someone that you are not intimate with.  How would you know how to act like someone if you weren't around them or familiar with how they act?  It would be impossible!

APPLICATION:  Spend more time every day teaching God's truths to Micah & McKenzie.

PRAYER:  And then you pray!  I like to write out my prayers too - keeps my mind from wondering.  I have a major problem with multi-tasking.  ;-)

Today was the first day of their new study "Intentionally Focused" and if you subscribe to their email updates via the blog you will be able to download the study guide + they have some cool children's resources to go
with it!  If you are interested in the study, but have trouble downloading, let me know, and I can email you the PDF.  Every week they also provide a memory verse and a challenge.

The challenge this week this week is to be intentional about where & when you spend time in God's word every day.  For me this is 7:15am at the kitchen table.  USUALLY kids aren't awake until around 8am, so this works out well.  But I am also challenging myself to be asleep by midnight every night, so that my mornings can be better!  ;-)

This week's memory verse is one of my favorites!  Hebrews 12:1!

There you have it!  I might share more nuggets as we go, but I would encourage you to subscribe to the Good Morning Girls' blog.  They have a video post every Monday and additional posts on Wednesdays & Fridays.  If you've got the YouVersion Bible app on your phone/tablet, the Good Morning Girls Intentionally Focused plan is on there too!  :-)

Rick Warren + the Daniel Plan

Seems like I am starting off 2014 with a lot of Rick Warren. I'm reading his daily devotional on my Bible App reading plan, and loving it, and now Eli and I are starting to read The Daniel Plan.

 NOTE: This is NOT the Daniel Fast - which I have read, but not attempted in it's full glory - I know it is a "fast" but 21 days without meat or dairy products might have to wait until I'm not cooking for a 1 & 3 year old every day!  ;-)  Though I did do a strictly water-to-drink and no sweets mini version to start the year, and enjoyed reading the 21-Day Devotional part of the book during that time.

 I should also note that I am a big Rick Warren fan. You may know him from his famous book "The Purpose Driven Life."  He pastors a very large church in California (Saddleback) and is pretty influential in many ways.  When "The Purpose Driven Life" made it big, he paid the church back all his salary for 25 years!  WOW!  I think that is so cool!  (You can read more at Wikipedia)

 Anyway, Rick Warren's "The Daniel Plan" is named for Daniel, but not necessarily based on his all-vegetable diet of the Bible (he was refraining from meat that had been sacrificed to idols). Reportedly, he realized that he was not treating his body as "God's temple" and asked if anyone in his congregation was interested in losing weight with him.  Well, it took off and Saddleback got a lot healthier for it.

But this is not just a weight loss book, which I like... he focuses on five "Essentials" which I will outline and comment on below since we are supposed to access where we are before we get really started!  ;-)

1. FAITH:  This is an area that I don't believe we should ever be satisfied in.  There is ALWAYS room for improvement if we are striving to follow Jesus.  
2. FOOD:  Probably my WEAKEST area.  Eli & I do NOT eat healthy.  We have good intentions, but get busy, fail to plan, and succumb to macaroni-and-cheese more times than we should!  ;-)
3. FITNESS:  Believe it or not, I actually like to exercise.  Love to find time to get on the treadmill.  Love to visit our gym.  Love fitness DVDs.  Love to take the double stroller and dogs out.  However, unfortunately it gets pushed out just for lack of time too often.  My Jawbone helps keep me motivated these days.  
4. FOCUS:  I tend to have a pretty positive attitude and always remember to SMILE.  :-)
5. FRIENDS:  So thankful for an awesome Grow Group and church family, we are not doing this as a small group though... so biggest props to Eli for being my best friend AND spouse AND motivator.

New Year, New Goals

I am a very goal-oriented person.  I love checking things off a to-do list and results that I can measure.

However, in reviewing my 2013 goals, I'd probably only give myself a C or so.

I met most of my reading goals and my real estate volume goal...
... but Eli and I went out for probably 8 out of 12 date nights for our (once-a-month goal)
... bought a new car, but didn't get both credit cards completely paid off (although we've made HUGE progress
... made some fitness strides (joined a gym, etc.) but not back to where I was pre-kids (will I ever be? lol!)
... grew a nice garden, but didn't get a new deck
... ETC, ETC!

As a result, many of my 2013 goals, I am carrying over for 2014, let's try this again.  Feel free to hold me accountable to these when you run into me.

SPIRITUAL

• SEEK HIM
• Time with God every day (preferably first thing every morning as long as kids cooperate)
• Daily journal & prayer time (look at this cute & so do-able journal I got!)
• Reading Sarah Young's Jesus Calling devotional this year
• Will probably try to do all or most of the Good Morning Girls studies
• Read at least 6 spiritual growth books
• More accountability & growth in and with our small group
• Doing 2 reading plans in the YouVersion Bible app (with Eli)
• OWNit365 One Story
• Rick Warren's Daily Devotional

FAMILY

• At least once-a-month date nights with Eli!
• Read at least 4 marriage books & 4 parenting books
• Regular devotional time with kids
• More active & outdoor family time

CAREER/FINANCIAL

• Read at least 5 business books
• Finish my KS broker license & start MO broker license
• Put on a new deck, paint exterior of house, partially finish basement
• Pay off credit cards!

HEALTH

• Eat more veggies!
• Exercise more!  (I got a Jawbone UP for Christmas, and I can't tell you how motivating it is to get to my daily goal of 10,000 steps.  If you have one or are thinking about getting one, do it and add me to your team.  It helps to have encouragers!)
• Make it to our fancy gym (thank you to Eli's employer for making that possible!) at least 1x week
• Walk outside or on treadmill at least 4x week

And my good friend +Tim Morgan decided to have a "theme song" for the year (his is HAPPY! which I love, but cannot steal), so mine is Steve Curtis Chapman's "Love Take Me Over."

2010 in Review

So, I just went over my journal entry for this time last year and had a good chuckle over some of my goals for 2010.   Mostly I feel like a failure...  why do I do this to myself again?

• Daily Prayer Journal - was consistent for exactly 2 months, and then sporadic the rest of the year... would like to get better about this.
• Read 1 spiritual growth book per month - I think it was more like 5 for the year.  Not bad, considering I ended up reading a lot more pregnancy/baby books than I had planned for!  ;-)  (For what it's worth, my favorite was "200 Pomegranates & an Audience of 1" by Shawn Wood.)
• Read 1 business-related book every other month - really bad here.  Only read one:  "If You're  Not Having Fun Selling Real Estate, You're Not Doing it Right" by Jennifer Allan (very helpful - I like her style). I bought some good ones though, does that count?  LOL.
• Lose body fat - really epic fail.  I just added in this category.  But I got a super cute baby out of the deal, and a jogging stroller for Christmas, so hopefully I can get back on track for this goal!  
• Get pregnant - yes, it's true (I am a dork), I actually wrote this as a goal on January 1, 2010.  I had a positive pregnancy test on February 3, 2010.  Mission accomplished.  haha.
• Complete Dave Ramsey's Baby Step #2 - the debt snowball - we're not quite done with paying off our cars, but we're getting closer...
• Regular "date nights" with Eli - lukewarm on this one - did a little better pre October 3rd.  However, we've got a hot date planned at our favorite steak house for our 5-year anniversary on January 7th!!!
• Get in a small group by March - OK, we actually didn't accomplish this until September-ish, but it feels like I've known the people in our wonderful little group longer than that!  After having the awesome spiritual family that we did in St. Louis, this is something Eli and I spent a long time missing; and now I am thankful to say that God has surrounded us with another wonderful group of people to keep us accountable and real and to love and live life with.  Still love & cherish you STL folk and am so thankful for the technologies (facebook, blogs, email, cell phones) that allow us to stay close.

So, what are my goals for 2011?  Not sure yet...  Should I even make any?  Who knows?  But I will.  If nothing else, it will give us something to laugh at next year!  ;-)

26 Blessings

Today is my 26th birthday, and I am celebrating right now by remembering 26 things I am thankful for. So here it goes!

1. My relationship with Jesus. I was 15 when I became a Christian, and it just keeps getting better. (FUN FACT: my real birthday is 9-9 and my spiritual birthday is 10-10)
2. My fantastic husband of 3 yrs & 8 months, Eli! We've been together for 11 years now, and I can honestly say that I have never once been bored with him! ;-) Being a wife is absolutely wonderful.
3. My mom - she is so graciously allowing us to live with her now while we wait for our house in St. Louis to close and search for a new one here. AND she took us all out for sushi last night for my birthday!!! Yummy.
4. My dad - for blueberry pancakes & hot cheese dip, for teaching me how to ride (and drive!), for always taking care of me, and for many other invaluable life lessons like "God gave you 2 ears and only 1 mouth so you should listen twice as much as you speak."
5. My in-laws. Sometimes I joke with Eli that I married him for my in-laws. It's not that absurd either. God used them mightily to call me to Him - I might not be a Christian today without their godly influence and love.
6. My brothers!!! Nick & Caleb. I love you guys! You introduce me to new video games, new music, new movies, old movies, old music, and keep me young.
7. For friends that I miss. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, but it's not easy. Eli and I are moving away from so many wonderful friends in St. Louis. I am looking forward to many visits across I-70.
8. 4-leaf clovers with Grandma Bece. Truly, we found over 300. I am one lucky girl to have had a grandmother like her!
9. Carpet picnics with Grandma Mi. I still think they are cool.
10. I've had so many opportunities to travel. I am thankful that I have been to so many places and have learned so much from so many different people. Whether it be hiking in the mountains, SCUBA diving in the Caribbean, touring Europe, serving in Latin America or on a Native American reservation, road trips south, camping along the way, OR just a day trip to a new place; I'm always happy to be on an adventure!
11. Nature. I always feel God's presence is stronger when I am outside - it's so relaxing and freeing. One of the reasons it is nice to be back in Kansas!
12. The Bible. I don't read it as often as I should, but when I first realized (at Passion 2005) that there are people in the world who do not have access to a Bible in their language, it certainly made me appreciate it so much more! By the way, you can help with that!
13. Books in general. I admit it freely, I am a book worm. My parents passed on a love of reading that I hope to never lose. This spring, my mom got me a VERY early birthday present - the Amazon Kindle - and I love being able to have access to any number of books instantaneously.
14. goodreads.com - I think this is my all time favorite site. But in all seriousness, I am thankful that we have so much technology (how else could I write this post!) that makes our lives easier, safer, and more time-efficient (in theory).
15. Also - facebook, blogging, email, cell phones, and other gadgets that make keeping in touch a little more manageable.
    
16. Our dogs (Denver & Cooper). They are endless amusement and have taught Eli and myself so much about parenting and each other!
17. I suppose I better mention our frog Gizmo too. After all, he was here first. I got him in college. He is 6 years old. Not bad for a tree frog!
18. ACTS Campus Ministry. I'm not sure how I would have spiritually survived my time at Washington University without the ACTS group.
19. More specifically, the Bennetts. A.J., Susan, Sierra, & Lucas have been such an awesome family for Eli and me both. Great examples and true servants of God.
20. Work. I know sometimes it's not fun, but I'm happy to have a job and an income; and a flexible job that allows me to take my birthday off! And will hopefully someday enable me to be a mostly stay-at-home mom. Plus, I actually do enjoy real estate. It's so fun to find that right house for someone and put those keys in their hand.
21. Hay bales in a field. I know that sound strange, but to me, there is nothing more beautiful.
22. Our church. We had a terrific church family in St. Louis, but we are already blessed with our new congregation here welcoming us with open arms. They even put us in charge of coordinating the Jr. High ministry. Wow. I'm not sure if I am mature enough to be thankful for middle schoolers yet. Maybe next year? haha.
23. My health. I've been doing the P90X workout routine and it kicks my butt some days, but I am thankful I can do it (well, almost all of it minus a few impossible yoga moves!).
24. Dave Ramsey. Eli and I just started doing his Financial Peace University and are learning so much! We've had some tight times, but God has always provided, and it has taught us to trust Him all the more. Now I feel like we are learning to honor God with what He has given us.
25. Having a home. As I mentioned, Eli and I are house-hunting right now and feel a little homeless. In fact, the "HOME" button on my Garmin is still pointing me towards St. Louis. But, thanks to a terrific family we have plenty of places to "come home" to and are learning that as long as we are together, we are already HOME.
26. OK, it's cheesy I know, but I'm thankful for YOU! Thank you for reading my blog and partaking in a little CELEBRATION with me!