When All You Can Do Is Pray

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This was our view on one of the drives we made over Christmas. I didn’t take a picture during the other drive, but imagine lots of snow, winds and at times near white out conditions….if I haven’t already mentioned it I do not like driving during winter weather. And yes I realize that I live in Minnesota so it is inevitable, but I don’t have to like it!

On top of all of this I am a very nervous rider. It seems to me that when I am not in the drivers seat it feels like everything is always on the verge of being out of control. Good times for all involved I know.

So I found myself in a long car ride, sick to my stomach. Fear and worry can consume me in a snap and I start to think about the worst case scenerio happening to us. I know that these feelings are not from God and so at times like this the only thing I can do is pray.

I have no control over the weather.

I have no control over the drivers in front of us or behind us, or the semis that are screaming past us….no control. And while I find comfort in believing that I have control over some things…I knew this was one situation that I had to give over to God completely.

So I prayed.

And prayed and prayed.

In moments where we don’t have control and we don’t know what else to do – we CAN pray. And it doesn’t have to be a really in-depth prayer either….I literally just prayed “God Protect Us” over and over.

I just started reading a new book by Mark Batterson called “In A Pit With A Lion On A Snowy Day“. I am not that far into the book but this stuck out at me specifically.

“The word over in the phrase “over the water” comes from the two-dimensional Hebrew word paniym. In regards to time, paniym can refer to the split second before something happens and the split second after something happens. In regards to space, it can refer to the space right in front or right in back of you.

In the words of the Psalmist:

I look behind me and you’re there, then up ahead and you’re there too.

It’s almost as if God forms a parenthesis in time and a parenthesis in space around us. He is hovering all around you all the time.”

Do you love that visual as much as I do?

That God literally is behind you and in front of you at all times?!

Bad things happen but it doesn’t mean that God isn’t there with us. I have struggled with this in the past so I am not some “expert” on walking the Christian life well. I have found myself in situations where I was sure God had deserted me then to see, in hindsight, that He had been there all along.

He has formed a parenthesis around my life.

He is in it all. So I can remind myself in times of worry and fear, God continues to go before me, continues to walk behind me….Just as He always has.

I will find myself on a snowy road again in the future, literally and figuratively. We are not promised that we won’t have troubles, but we are promised that He has overcome all of it.

Today I will hold tight to that promise and the idea that He goes before me and behind me through it all.

Do you struggle with worry? What works best for you in situations like these??

2013 – A Year in Review!

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I can’t believe that 2013 is almost over! What a whirlwind of a year it has been. A year ago I didn’t know that I would be working full time with my husband. I had just started this little blog and I had no idea what a life changer it would be to have been chosen for the God Sized Dream Team. And there were several beautiful women out there that I hadn’t yet met and I had no idea that they would become life long friends in the course of 2013.

God has been moving for certain. And while my faith often waivers and I sometimes question why God has me in a specific place at a specific time….I can look back on the past year and see how His hand has been in every detail of my life. It hasn’t been an easy year, or a perfect year but it has been filled with so many unexpected blessings that I am grateful for the journey.

So I thought it might be fun to recap some of the favorite posts on my blog from this past year….

I started out 2013 by sharing what, at the time, I thought my God Sized Dreams for the year were. God Sized Dreams for 2013.

I shared a post about what got me started blogging in the first place when I posted The Beginning of the Story.

I studied a little bit about Paul in the Hello Mornings challenge and was reminded that God uses us even when we don’t have it all together. He Calls the Broken.

I shared an important lesson that I learned from my daughter on one very long and miserable road trip…in The Buckle.

I had a chance to read a little about Hannah in the Bible and was struck by her amazing faith and shared why I wanted A Heart Like Hannah’s.

Who knew that something as simple as a harmonica could teach me a lesson this year, but Karlena has a way about her and when she was playing her Angry Harmonica, well I was reminded that I bear the sin of anger way too often and it is something that I need to constantly be laying at the feet of the cross.

In Those Who Have Gone Before Us, I shared about my experience with infertility and miscarriage and how faithful, brave women that had also walked a similar path had been an encouragement to me…and that because of them I was hoping to some day pay it forward.

It isn’t always easy to find joy. Sometimes I am stubborn and won’t open my eyes to the blessings right in front of me, and other times I am walking in abundance – regardless of where you are today are you finding Joy – Unspeakable Joy?

I struggle with fear in so many areas and I shared about it here. When Fear Overwhelms.

I wanted so badly to be a cheerleader in high school and wasn’t ever given the chance. Now God has redeemed that in a unique way – A Different Kind of Cheerleader.

It isn’t fun to share the difficult times, it is easier to forget really. But in sharing about The Darkest Hour in my life I was able to see how God has redeemed my life in so many ways!

I shared a story about the power of prayer and the hope that The Three Coins my mom brought me from Greece represented in my life.

Well there you have it!! Some of the top posts here in 2013. My prayer is that 2014 will bring more dreaming and seeking God in all of the minute details of my life. I am so very grateful for each of you that come here and share life with me. Many of you have become IRL friends and others – well it is just a matter of time! 🙂 Until then, thank you for loving on me here and have a blessed New Year!

The Greatest Gift!

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Merry Christmas from our family to yours! It is my prayer that each and every one of us will experience the true gift of Christmas this year. Christ came to Earth as a baby so that He could ultimately die as the sacrifice for each of our sins. That is overwhelming to me and I am so very grateful that God loves us that much! All we have to do is receive the gift God has freely given through His Son.

If you have not established a relationship with Christ yet, stop waiting!! What a gift it would be to finally enter into a relationship with God this year. I am praying today for all who may not know Christ in an intimate way. I have posted my favorite Christmas story below, let’s receive Him with great joy today!! Merry Christmas friends!

Luke: 2: 1-20 – 1 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. ²This was the first registration when^[a] Quirinius was governor of Syria. ³And all went to be registered, each to his own town.⁴And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, ⁵to be registered with Mary, his betrothed,^[b] who was with child. ⁶And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. ⁷And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

⁸And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. ¹⁰And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. ¹¹For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. ¹²Andthis will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” ¹³And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

¹⁴“Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”^[c]

¹⁵When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” ¹⁶And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. ¹⁷And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. ¹⁸And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. ¹⁹But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. ²⁰And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

Updates and More

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Wow I have been an absent blogger recently! I have found myself doing my best to just keep up it seems and blogging just has to take a back seat. I have been writing recently, but it hasn’t exactly been for this space. I am humbled and honored to be a part of an amazing project which I will be able to share with you very soon.

It is a God Sized Dream for sure so don’t leave just yet…I promise I will be able to share all the details, God willing, before the end of the year!

Until then I wanted to share a few things that our family has been up to!

We have been decorating!! Every morning my favorite time is waking up to the tree all lit up and spending some quiet time soaking in the beauty. I am going to miss this view when we have to take it down!

This is my favorite time of year, I so enjoy the decorations and the lights. On Saturday we are going to our hometown to do a tour of the holiday lights in a stretch hummer limo! Dominic made the arrangements and we got to invite people from both of our extended families. I am excited and it should be a fun way to start out Christmas week!

We have been to a fun Christmas program at Elijah’s school! And can I just say isn’t his shirt adorable?! His amazing teachers made them for all the kids. I am going to have to save that for sure! The kids did a great job and I was so proud of Elijah because he knew all of the words and actions!

I can’t hardly believe it but our baby and only girl is going to be 3 tomorrow! How has the time flown by so fast?!? She is our little miss independent and likes things her way. We have our work cut out for us in a few years I think! 🙂 But she is a doll and we are so lucky to have her in our family.

We are looking forward to a couple of days off over Christmas but won’t be able to take as long of a break as we had hoped. Business is crazy busy (yes a blessing even when it is stressful) and so we will likely have to get back to work sooner than expected…but we are counting our blessings and grateful we are busy and not too slow!

The Christmas Angel, an Elf-on-the-Shelf Alternative

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This is Tinker – he was our Elf-on-the-Shelf for probably 5 years or more. I heard about this elf from another blogger and at the time Gabriel was probably 4 or 5 and just really starting to ask about Santa etc. I will admit I initially liked the idea of this “magical elf” that watched for good behavior. The first year we had Tinker, if Gabriel was being naughty, we would just say “Tinker’s watching” and immediately he would apologize and correct his behavior.

It seemed like a genius idea.

In the past 2 years I have been trying harder to keep Christmas about Christ. Teaching our kids about the true meaning and why we celebrate. Trying to take the focus off of Santa a little. Our kids do still get Santa presents, but we don’t make it this huge deal.

But the kids LOVED Tinker. They always remembered that he showed back up after Thanksgiving and couldn’t wait to see where he would hide. I talked last year about getting rid of him but wasn’t sure how….

Then this year a friend on FB had a picture of this Christmas Angel.

I asked her about it and she shared the link with me. Story Lines Inc is the company that made the doll. The angel comes on December 1st and delivers a message about the real reason for Christmas each day until Christmas Day.

I thought this might be the perfect alternative to our elf. Admittedly, I enjoy the magic the kids feel about Christmas. Their innocence and how they believe…so we decided to come up with a “plan” to have Tinker leave our family.

He showed up like he always had and for a few days he “hid” in a new spot. But on November 30th Tinker had a special letter for the kids….

Basically it said that Tinker had been called on a special assignment and that Santa wanted our kids to understand the real meaning of Christmas. That a Christmas Angel would be coming to share a special message each morning about why God loves us so much and why we celebrate Christmas.

Don’t judge please….I know it seems silly – but this is the way we felt we could best transition the angel into our family.

Our Christmas Angel has a similar “do not touch” rule. But she isn’t leaving the family each night to “report back to Santa”…rather spreading her wings and rest on a new spot with a new message each morning.

She has found several spots to “hide” so far and the kids have all loved hearing what her card reads.

Each card is short and sweet – but I love the messages they bring.

Overall we have loved the addition of the Christmas Angel to our mornings. The kids still talk about Tinker from time to time and I know they miss him…but they also have enjoyed hearing what the Angel has to say for them each day so I am glad we made the switch!!

How about you? Do you do the Elf-on-the-Shelf?? What do you think of the Christmas Angel?? What other traditions do you have in your family to keep the focus on the real meaning of Christmas??

**Update as of Nov 2014…I heard from a reader that the site link to the angel I purchased doesn’t work anymore. I am not sure if the company is producing the angel this year, if I hear more I will update this post as it has been a very popular one this year!**

Christmas with Dayspring!

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I am a HUGE fan of Dayspring products. You will find their things scattered all throughout my home. They are timeless pieces with a beautiful message.

This lantern is sitting on my fireplace hearth. It is a part of Dayspring’s Love Came Down Collection.

Etched on the front door of the lantern is this verse: “The light will dawn in your souls and Christ the Morning Star will shine in your hearts.” II Peter 1:19

I love that!

There is something about having God’s Word written and displayed all over a home that is so appealing to me. Little reminders that He is present in ALL things.

I have a feeling that this lantern will be a permenant part of my hearth year round.

God calls us to be a light in this dark world.

The only way we can do that is by having His light within us in the first place. My prayer for each of us as we have entered the Advent season is that our hearts and minds will be filled with His peace and presence.

We can be light, we are called to be a light and because of Christ we are!

Is there something in your home that reminds you to be a light for Christ? I’d love to see them! Share a picture or a link below!

Recently Dayspring contacted me to offer me the opportunity to purchase an item from their Christmas shop at a discounted price, in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed here are my own.

Liebster Award

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My cousin Jaimie (technically she is my cousin-in-law) 🙂 nominated me for a Liebster Award. It is a fun way to introduce smaller blogs to new people. She is so sweet and has the most adorable son Gunder. Hop on over and check her blog out when you have a moment won’t you?

So I get to have a little fun with this and then share the love!!

First 11 random things about me…(this may be tough but let’s see)

1. I am a morning person. Up at 5am and ready to start the day but by 8pm I am beat!

2. I spell the word “receive” wrong every time I type it – thank God for spell check.

3. I was the first person in 7th grade to have both glasses and braces at the same time. I embodied the “nerd” look well that year!

4. I always thought I wanted to have twins after growing up with 2 sets of twins in my neighborhood.

5. I love baking and would enjoy taking a cake decorating class some day.

6. I hated my name growing up and wished I had been named Jennifer. I don’t feel that way anymore!

7. I love shopping online and finding good deals!

8. I was sure I was going to be a physical therapist when I grew up but Organic Chem in my freshman year of college changed that for me!

9. I LOVE decorating for Christmas and wish the season lasted longer.

10. I would love to learn how to play the guitar but I am not sure the tips of my fingers could handle it!

11. I love singing….singing is my favorite! 🙂

So now Jaimie had 11 questions for me to answer!

If you could redo one thing from your past, what would it be?

Oh boy there are lots of things I might change – but the truth is every mistake I made, the consequences etc., helped me shape my faith and grow into the person I am today so I guess I have to say my past is my past for a reason! 🙂

What is your favorite book?

The Bible of course – but also anything by Angie Smith.

Where is the best place you have visited?

I don’t have a long list of places that I have travelled – but I did go to Jamaica on a mission trip in college with Karlena that was amazing!

Who do you miss?

Karlena of course. 3 years she has been gone and you don’t stop missing your best friend.

If you could change one thing about the world today, what would it be?

Poverty – especially with children

Have you ever lied about your weight?

Hmm…honestly I don’t think so??

Are you a coffee drinker?

Nope not at all – much to the dismay of my husband who would just love to sit on the porch with me and dip coffee together…although we never sit on the porch so I am not sure what he is talking about! 😉

Do you wear any clothing items that you have owned for more than ten years?

I don’t think so. My style has really changed in the past several years so I don’t think I would ever wear what I had in my closet back then! 🙂

If you could trade in your current vehicle for any other, what would it be?

I drive a mini van, which is wonderful for our family, but it doesn’t have AWD…so probably something that would have that, and fit my family, and get good gas mileage (ha!)

What would you like children to learn in school?

More about God! Heck anything about God!

Now for My 11 questions for the blogs I am nominating! 🙂

1. What is your favorite time of the day?

2. If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be?

3. What is your biggest pet peeve?

4. Salty or sweet?

5. If you could have one wish granted what would it be?

6. What is your middle name?

7. What is your favorite Christmas tradition?

8. What book are you currently reading?

9. What is the last package you received in the mail?

10. How many loads of laundry do you do in a week?

11. What is the best Christmas present you have ever received?

So the 3 blogs that I am going to “nominate” are:

Laura at Hentown Mama (A fellow dreamer and sweet friend I finally met at Allume)

Delonna at Clothed in Love (is also a dreamer with a wonderful jewelry shop and this week she has some great deals happening!!)

Mel at Barefoot Mel (a new sister and fellow dreamer, roomie at Allume and Voxer friend…while I consider Mel a “bigger” blogger…I was just excited to read her answers!! 🙂 )

So there you have it! A fun reason to get back into blogging again after a long break, it seems! Go check out my blogger friends and find someone new to follow in the process! 🙂

The Nativity Story App!

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Since we are now really starting the Christmas season I wanted to share with you a fun new app available for kids to tell the nativity story!

I love finding new ways to teach the kids about the true meaning of Christmas. I downloaded this app onto my phone and one of the features that I loved was that it has a “Read to Me” and “Read by Myself” button. So the younger kids can just sit and listen to the story play if they don’t have someone to read it to them!

The story is filled with music and vintage pictures. It was made to feel like a pop-up-book and it really does a good job at that! There are spots in each scene that are interactive as well.

Karlena (who is almost 3) got a little button happy while she was watching it and so for a younger child to fully experience the story, an older child or adult should help with making the pages turn etc. But she loved that the screen changed and the music that played in the background.

One of her favorite parts was that she could touch the picture of the “horsey” – which was really the donkey and make it move and make sounds. 🙂

What a perfect app to have on the go to remind your younger children about the real meaning of Christmas!

About the app :: Aimed for kids ages 2-8, The Nativity Story app brings the Christmas story alive. Where will baby Jesus be born? At the market? At a restaurant? At the inn? Readers of this book app can follow Joseph and Mary on their search for a place to stay in Bethlehem. Along the way they encounter a variety of colourful local people and animals. This is a fun and engaging way to share the original story of Christmas with the young generation and remind them what Christmas is all about.

Download here :: The Nativity Story – Popup Deluxe Edition for the iPad ($3.99) or The Nativity Story – Popup Mini Edition for the iPhone ($1.99)

FlyBy Promotions offered me this app to download for free for my honest review of the product. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own!

O The Blood….

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“O The Blood”

This song has been playing over and over in my car and at work….

Earlier this week our oldest son learned that a young man from the town we used to live in was killed in a tragic auto accident. One that was completely avoidable but because of the carelessness of the other driver, 2 families lives may forever be changed.

It is so sad and so senseless.

It is in times like these that I want to understand the “whys” – want to see something positive in the situation.

And often times there isn’t an answer right away.

Maybe this accident, this loss, will bring some teenagers from the community to Christ.

Maybe it will bring the driver who caused it to a relationship with Christ.

We just can’t know – I can hope because at least there is something positive…

It is at times like this that the best we can do I think is cling to the promises.

This life is NOT the end.

Because of the blood of Christ, shed for us, a young life lost isn’t lost forever.

There is hope and power and grace in the blood.

Can you even comprehend that even in our darkest moments of sin – Christ chose to sacrifice His life for us so that this would not be the end of the story.

Praise God for that.

Please pray for the family of Peter Auch – may God cover them in His peace today.

Just in case the video doesn’t embed like it is supposed to here is a link to the song I was talking about!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kC59rgmcu34.

Impact Opportunity – Sponsor a Family!!

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I know that I said I was only going to do 1 Impact Opportunity each month – but I have very good reason for doing this now! 🙂

Christmas is FAST approaching. With Thanksgiving next week stores have already begun posting their Black Friday sales, and their Black Friday Pre-sales and of course there is Small Business Saturday (which I love by the way) and Cyber Monday.

Plenty of opportunity to shop and get some great deals in the coming weeks.

I really like shopping for Christmas presents. I often help my mother-in-law pick out the gifts for our kids. She loves it because she doesn’t have to get out and try to pick something out and we both know the kids will love what they get! Win win.

But for some families this time of year is especially tough. All the ads on TV and in the paper can be a reminder of what they can’t do. Maybe it is a single mother doing her best to just work to pay the bills. Or a single income family with small children that struggle to keep food on the table, much less by the “extras” of Christmas.

There are so many families out there in need. Many of them in our own community.

And it can be easy to push that out of our minds. Yes maybe we buy a gift for the Angel Tree, or Toy for Tots…all great organizations and doing so much for others. Hear me on this – giving in that area IS important and so appreciated.

But this year I really had to ask myself if we were doing enough?

For the past several years we have sponsored a family in our local community. For us we just started by asking at our church if the staff knew of a family that was going to be struggling that Christmas.

I am guessing if you ask you will find there is a need.

Last year we set a budget, one that honestly was a little “safe”. I am not condemning that, just saying that this year it was put on my heart that maybe we needed to trust God and really give.

Dominic and I recently went to Virginia for a little vacation. A first for us really. We spent $700 on plane tickets at at least $300 on food etc….Just on us. It wasn’t a trip of necessity (although much appreciated), it was a splurge because we have been blessed this year.

On our flight home I got the email from our church secretary with the “wish list” for the family I had asked about this year. At the bottom of the list they wrote this...”This is our list but just know that you don’t have to get any of the items on here, we will be thankful to receive whatever God puts in your hearts. Our family is forever grateful for this blessing.”

That hit me like a ton of bricks.

We have so so much. It is embarrassing really. When I look around my house and see the used toys and thrown away food…..compared to so many we are rich and yet we always want more.

I shared the message with Dominic and he felt the same way. We started talking about what items we should get on the list and he said “Let’s just get them all!”

I get goosebumps even thinking about it! I was so excited!!

If we can spend $1000+ on a vacation, we needed to give and give big. This was our opportunity to pay forward all the blessings God has showered on us.

And added bonus, I got to do what I love and start shopping!!

The Fed Ex and UPS men must wonder what is going on with the stream of packages they have delivered this week. The kids have had fun seeing what is coming and asking who it is for. And we get to show them that we can be a blessing because of God’s provisions.

Please understand this – I don’t want us to take ANY of the credit here!! This is ALL GOD. He made it possible for us to give big this year and I am just getting the pleasure of enjoying this process myself. I am giddy over the packages that are coming as well. Knowing that these gifts may be appreciated more than the gifts our own kids will get, just makes me smile.

I know some of you may be struggling yourself this year. Maybe you are that family in need. If so, I encourage you to reach out to your local church. There just may be someone hoping to find a family to sponsor as well.

And if you are walking in the land of plenty right now I am going to challenge you too. Look at what makes you “comfortable” and pray about God helping you get a little uncomfortable. I guarantee it will be worth it and He gets the glory!!

And with all these amazing sales coming up next week – now is the time to get shopping!! 🙂