High Five for Friday!

So I just decided to get {back} into blogging! I started following two new blogs! The Smalls Things Blog and From My Grey Desk Blog. They are sisters and have lots of fun posts! Lauren from My Grey Desk Blog hosts a "High Five for Friday" link-up. I liked the idea so here are my top five from the week!

1. Peanut Butter - Jelly! Not the Sandwiches! This week my little boy was on the porch singing the cute preschool song Peanut Butter- Jelly! It was such a sweet moment! I chuckled and it immediately transported me back to my childhood. Sometimes moments like those are just what I need to stop and in that very moment cherish life.

2. So one of my favorite things this week was having lunch after my hubby after he got a good report. We always go to this hole in the wall Mexican place. It's sinfully delicious. The best part, is that we are able to be together and the second best part....is they give you one of these when you close your check!

3. HELLO! I am a shoe-aholic. I wasn't planning to get another pair but I found these adorable wedges at New York & Co for 70% off. Yes, you read that right. I bought these bad boys for just over $10 bucks!

4. H&M opened a store near me! I had never shopped at an H&M so I had to check it out! They had a DJ playing party music and there were even break dancers in the mall. It was insane!!! I bought a dress and a shirt for $20! Overall, I thought I could  come back and find some fun trendy pieces at an affordable price but I still ended up at my favorite store LOFT.

5. Last on the list are my veggies & fruits. I absolutely love going to the farmers market...there is something about picking fresh produce that makes healthy cooking so much better!

I don't know how to import Lauren's button into a post. Can anyone help?
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Cherishing Banana Splits!

This week I read a heart breaking story. You can read it here! It is about a family that is facing the reality that they will loose one of their children. When asked what people could do to help, they encouraged families to eat banana splits with their children. This idea is so in line with my goal to cherish each moment that I wanted to share it with some of my friends. Coincidentally, I had signed up to provide a meal for the youth at our church. So after dinner, I shared the story with them, we prayed for the family, and we joyfully indulged in banana splits.

Tuesday Fun for Everyone!

We are having a super fun summer! We are doing all kinds of fun activites with our church friends! Today we met up for Chic-fil-a and swimming! I love that my little guy gets to play and I get to gab with friends!

 Enjoying an ice cream cone!

 Ready to swim.

 Friends!

 T-bone was the only boy today!

Find the Flow

I recently started an online parenting class about raising happy kids. The professor said something that I found particularly interesting. She encouraged the class participants to look for “flow” in your life. She explained “flow” as moments of engagement where time seems to stand still.

I decided to dive in a little deeper. The idea of “flow” comes from research in the 90’s by a Hungarian Psychologist, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. The main idea is that we can develop happiness in our lives by stretching our body & mind to its limits in an effort to accomplish something worthwhile. The idea of flow can be compared to an athlete being “in the zone.”

Complete engagement in an experience could occur while you are singing in a choir, dancing, playing cards, or reading. If you love your job, it could happen during a complicated procedure or when you close business deal. It may occur in a social interaction, when talking with a good friend, or while playing with a baby. Moments such as these provide flashes of intense living against the dull background of everyday life.

So this week I am going to attempt to achieve flow! Want to join me? I'll let you know how it goes.

I am GrateFULL!!

This week in the "Stressed to Blessed 15 Week Challenge" we were challenged to find ways to be grateful. Carmalyn challenged us to write 25 things we were thankful for! It is our "Blue Print of Blessings." So, I had a few minutes at the end of my work day and I sat at my desk and started free thinking. Everything I thought I typed. I didn't edit or re-think. I stopped when I naturally stopped and here you go:

Mike (my husband)
Siezure Meds
Doctors
Brain surgeons
Travis
Simplicity
Complexity
Nature
Blogs
Halloween costumes
Transportation
Safety
Curiosity
Bravery
Honesty
Quiet
Music
Gardens
Hydrangeas
Worship
Communion
Confession
Forgiveness
Time
Sleep
Family – Blood
Family- Church
Family- Genuine friends

There are 30 in my list and I will continue to focus on my blessings this week (and beyond). Thank God for his abundant blessings! In everything, give thanks!

Stressed?

I am so excited about the "15 week Challenge - From Stressed to Blessed" group on Facebook. Last year I enjoyed participating each week and now I'm excited because I will be guest posting! This week the challenge focuses on CHERISHING Life.

Since last February, I've been an absentee blogger. I'm new to the blogging world so I'm getting started again. Check back soon as I chronicle my life and the craziness that insues. Hopefully I will be joining the other 250 people as we move from "stressed to blessed".

If you are interested in reading more search for us on Facebook "15 Week Challenge - From Stressed to Blessed." You can also check out my friend Carmalyn McCracken's blog, You Got Joy!

Cherish!

I had my quiet time (QT) tonight and cherished the time I spent in God's Word and in prayer. I am participating in a “Good Morning Girl” group and I am studying James! This might sound silly but I look forward to my QT like I look forward to a date with Mike (my husband)! I just love it! I love Mike, I love dates, I love Jesus, I love quiet times!

One of my Good Morning Girls goes to a church in North Carolina and she told me about "My One Word," a new kind of resolution. I have been thinking a lot about it and wanted to share "My One Word" with you!

I decided I would pick the word CHERISH! I originally thought I would pick the word “hope” but I just couldn't commit to it. Something about it just didn't fit. I wanted a verb, an action word...something I could do! I believe that after 2010, an arduous year with Mike's diagnosis & treatment and my Dad's passing this is the perfect word for 2011.

I want to CHERISH the gifts God has given me! I want to CHERISH my quiet times...my relationship with Jesus. I want to CHERISH my husband, child and family. I want to CHERISH each moment... moments I have with others....moments to share my faith...moments to love.

According to Miriam-Webster's the Definition of CHERISH is...

transitive verb
1
a : to hold dear : feel or show affection for b : to keep or cultivate with care and affection : nurture
2
: to entertain or harbor in the mind deeply and resolutely

I believe that "My One Word" will help me follow God's greatest commandment, "Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’This is the first and greatest commandment And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ " (Matthew 22: 37-39).
(What is a QT? Here is a YL article I liked.)

Can you smell God?

Today I continued my study of Jesus’ Parables. I'm working my way through Matthew Chapter 13. This particular segment of my bible study made me think about how I can experience Jesus more fully through my senses. For instance "I tasted God goodness when...", "I heard God voice when...", "I saw Christ when...", "I touched my savior when...", " I smelled the fragrance of God when....". I thought this was an interesting way to think about my faith.

Last night I prepared a Crockpot meal for tonight’s dinner. When I walked in the door this afternoon, I thought about my study. The fragrance of my meal cooking made me appreciate the goodness of God. He has provided each of us with exactly the sustenance we need. Not only am I blessed to have food to eat but I have church community, friends and the Word of God to nourish me spiritually.

I know there are many people not as fortunate. I know there are families who struggle each day to provide for their children. There are adults and children who will go to bed hungry. Tonight I pray for those people. Not only that they will have nutrition but that they will be satisfied by God’s Word.

As I completed my study today, one verse stood out to me, "eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man things which God has prepared for those who love Him." (1 Corinthians 2:9)

High Heels and Hot Rollers

So, yesterday was not my finest day! I experienced a wide range of emotions. There were moments when I was boiling mad, tearful, anxious, laughing, quiet and even screaming! I was up to my eye balls in pent up energy and emotion and it ALL came out. Yesterday was a pretty rough day for me...

So, I was challenged to focus on the positive...hmmm positive...as I grumbled I looked down and saw my high heels. I laughed and thought (genuinely thought)...I love high heels! A few moments later I saw my reflection in a window and laughed again. I thought...I love hot rollers. These few blessings, as silly as they seem, completely changed my outlook on life!

So, I hope when you have a rough day...you can find your "High Heels and Hot Rollers!"

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

God, Can You Hear Me??

I have been studying Exodus for the last several months. I have never worked my way through this book before but I have learned tidbits of the Israelites story throughout my life. I have thoroughly enjoyed this study. My personal bible study times (quiet times) continue to deepened my faith!

In the last several months I have really been questioning and thinking about prayer! So it’s interesting that I read Exodus 32-34 yesterday. I found it very interesting and insightful. It was mainly about Moses' relationship with God. One particular part of chapter 32 refers to how God hears the prayers of Moses. It goes as far as saying God changes his mind and listens to Moses' request. Moses intercedes for his people, the Israelites.

I love that God is really listening to our prayers and to the prayer of those who intercede for us! I am also thankful that God continues to teach me through his word, the Bible!

So, I will keep on praying! God hears us! Can I pray for you?

Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart. (Colossians 4:2, NLT)

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. (Philippians 4:6, NIV)

Main Thing the Main Thing?

Ok, I have not done good with my blogging. I really do want to get into it. How do you stay motivated? How do you find the time?

I am amazed by two of my incredibly faithful friends Carmalyn and Kortni! Carmalyn has four jobs and Kortni has four children! They are always busy yet find time to inspire others on their blogs! They seem to do it all!

I find myself wanting to "do it all" but wondering if I can do it all. Am I prioritizing? Am I managing my time? Am I putting my focus in things that are worthy of my time? Famous Author, Steven Covey once said, "The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing." What is your main thing? I want my "Main Thing" to be my faith! I hope that if I keep the main thing, the main thing everything else will fall into place!

So, I'm not going to promise to be a better blogger, dieter, employee...I'm going to keep on praying, studying, and focusing on my main thing!

“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (Matthew 6:33).

“You shall have no other gods before me." (Exodus 20:3)

The Land Between

Have you ever asked yourself…is God speaking to me? Is he revealing something to me? Am I hearing Him? Have I ever heard Him? Recently, I thought these things, felt these things, wondered and WOW…just listen to what I have to tell you.

Several weeks ago I thought I would start an individual Bible study on Exodus. I thought it would be a good place to invest some time. I will be teaching the children in church school about Exodus next month. So it was part personal “quiet time” and part preparation.

I cracked open the “good book” to read this particular section of the Old Testament right before my father passed away. My Dad had been in a coma for four months and we were not seeing improvement. I was caught in this time warp of praying fervently for healing, wholeness and peace and waiting knowing that ultimately my father’s prognosis was not good. My Dad was here but I missed him so deeply. I vacillated between hope and despair, anger and peace, disbelief and certainty. I dug into God’s Word, prayed, and waited.

And waited…

My father passed on September 17th. The waiting was over but the grief continues.

The following is a snip-it of an e-mail I sent to my five “Good Morning Girls”. This is a group of women I communicate with five days a week as an online accountability group.

“I have a chance to spend some time in God's Word! (Amen!). I started by reading 1 James 1:2-4, Romans 2:7, 8:24,25, 2 Corinthians 6:3-7, AND my Exodus study of chapters 7,8,9 & 10…So, in my study of Exodus I am reading about the Israelites and their captivity in Egypt, Moses and Aaron and tonight I read about the plagues (ewww)! The Israelites were facing very depressing and challenging times. Most of their circumstances were completely out of their control and they were forced to remember God's promises. Many of them still questioned and doubted God and his plans and purposes for their people. (very fitting reading for my current circumstances!) In the bible notes from both Exodus and James I gathered the following, ‘When God is at work, suffering, setbacks, hardships may still occur (Exodus- notes). We are encouraged to be happy when difficult times come our way. The point is not to pretend to be happy when we face pain, but to have a positive outlook. James tell us to turn our hardships into times of learning (James-notes).’ All I can say is ‘WOW...thanks for speaking to me tonight GOD!’”

Just a day after I sent this e-mail to my friends, my dear friend (and one of my pastors) gave me the book the Land Between. It almost knocked me over when I start reading! The author, Jeff Manion, uses the biblical story of the Israelites as a metaphor for being in an undesired transitional space. This land between is where “everything normal is interrupted.” Manion says, “…the land between is fertile ground for spiritual transformation and for God’s grace to be revealed in magnificent ways.”

Holy Moses…I have been wandering “the land between” for over 8 months! Between my husband’s cancer diagnosis & treatment and my father illness I’ve pretty much taken up residence in a metaphorical desert!

So, this brings me to this morning. When I’m sitting in the pew… God’s messages are ringing loud and clear. The pastor preaches on a passage from 1 Kings. It is the story of Elijah, how he collapses under a broom tree and even says…”I have had enough Lord!” But God provides for him! God still has a plan for Elijah! I am blown away by the message and how it continues to be God’s words for me…right now…at this point in my life.

So through my reading of Exodus, The Land Between, and hearing my pastor sermon, I take away the following message; Despite the difficult circumstances, the grief, and loneliness, God is at work! God is revealing something to me! This is the time for transformation. Now is my time to listen and hear what God is teaching….to put aside resentfulness, bitterness and fear and to move forward holding on to God’s promises.

See what I’m saying!!! (God- I’m hearing you! Loud and Clear!)

I’ve been thinking about starting a blog for months. Today is the day! I am going “live” on this “Moment to Moment” blog. What you don’t know is that I’ve actually created half a dozen blogs that I never seem to get off the ground. This time is different (I hope…right?).

One of the reasons I never made the “blogmmitment” was because I didn’t know exactly which direction my blog would take. Did I want a family blog (poopy diapers), weight-loss blog (haha!), a faith based blog (In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit), a parenting blog (What channel are toons on…)? Hmmm…I’m no expert in any of these particular areas but I am a MOM who is living MOMent to MOMent. I hope to take experiences from my day to day life and share them with you, my “mom-rades”. I have no idea if anyone will read my ramblings but I invite you to join me on my adventure (if you dare).

My goal is to live life NOW…enjoying today, TODAY! As a mom, yo-yo dieter, Christian, and wife of a man who is beating brain cancer I want to enjoy each moment as a blessing and gift from God!