Having Faith ~ Ministry of Motherhood Week 7

“…eternal truth must always be the foundation of their understanding. If they can keep eternity before their eyes, they will be able to live in hope no matter what happens to them in this life.”

~ Sally Clarkson, Ministry of Motherhood, p. 105

 

This past week we focused on reading chapters nine and ten of Ministry of Motherhood along with the daily Scripture readings {SOAP}. We’ve started talking about modeling faith for our children and giving them an eternal perspective ~ laying a foundation based on God’s truth.

Rick and I are open with the kids about things that have been difficult for us and shared with them our beliefs and trust in God. There have been times in our lives when although I didn’t understand why something was happening, all I could do was trust that God would carry us through.

In the late miscarriage of our first son.

When Zachary nearly died from meningitis so many years ago.

And in so many other instances.

He has been and will be faithful to us.

 

“…childhood is the perfect time for us to take {our children} by the hand and show them how they can walk through these difficulties with the Lord. Trusting him will become a natural, first response of children if they are raised from earliest childhood to pray to God and to walk with Him each day of their lives.”

~ Sally Clarkson, Ministry of Motherhood, p. 115

 

My question for you all this week:  How have you modeled faith for your children?

 

A few links…

~ My Blog Frog forums ~ several threads are going where we’re talking about the daily S.O.A.P. and our thoughts on the part of the book we’re reading.

~ Good Morning Girls Ministry of Motherhood posts

~ If you haven’t already, please be sure to fill out this quick survey and answer a few questions for me. I’m trying to create an email list to keep better in touch with all of you ladies, and this will help me out a bunch!

With all that said ~ start linking up and sharing what God showed you this week!

A Vision of Lucy ~ Book Review

Lucy is determined to become a photographer for her local newspaper. Photography in the news is something new in the early 1880’s and a woman photographer even more so. In an attempt to get a much-coveted photo of a wild stallion, Lucy literally falls into trouble when she plummets out of a tree in the middle of a robbery.

She is rescued by David Wolf,  a man determined to remain elusive to the nearby town. He is haunted by things that happened to him many years ago from people in that town and determined to seek vengeance for the wrongs done to him.

Their lives become more closely tied and the secrets in David’s past threaten to ruin the budding relationship between the two. Will they be able to overcome the threats and follow the vision that God is giving them?

My Thoughts

One of the things that I loved most about A Vision of Lucy by Margaret Brownley were the little photography ‘tips’ that started off each book chapter. Often they just made me laugh, but gave an even deeper glimpse into society at that time in history. I

A Vision of Lucy is the third book in the Rocky Creek romance series and one that can be read as a stand-alone book. I loved Brownley’s writing style and will definitely be looking for more of her books, including the ones in this series to see what I’ve missed!

Find Out More

~ Visit Margaret Brownley’s website

~ Join Margaret Brownley’s Facebook page

~ Buy A Vision of Lucy from Amazon

This book was provided for review by Thomas Nelson via Net Galley.  All opinions expressed in this review are solely my own.

Fill in the Blank

The kids and I have been working on a new homeschool vocabulary curriculum this summer and getting into the groove of it before the school year starts up. We’ve been talking about and creating compound words.

The kids need to use the base word that they are given and then add a new word to it. For example, ‘fire’ plus ‘man’ equals ‘fireman’.

Zachary has a little more trouble coming up with words at times so I would try to give him some hints. He came up with two words to go along with the word ‘head’, headband and headlight, but then got stuck.

I sat in front of him and pointed to my head and said, “I have a word for you! Mommy gets these quite a bit!”

Zachary looked at me and the light dawned in his eyes.

“Oooooo! I know!! Headlice.” And he furiously began to write the word down.

Yeah. Not so much.

I was going more for HEADACHE, but it’s good to know where my hygiene stands with my kids.

 

Head on over to Mary's at Not Before 7 for some more Tiny Talk Tuesday!!

 

Quiet Time Hiding Spot{s}

Sometimes having a true quiet time in the morning is a bit difficult. Maybe because my bed feels a whole lot more comfy to me at the moment and a few extra minutes of sleep seem more enticing.

Or my children have woken up early {again} and are causing a ruckus that just makes the term ‘quiet time’ laughable because it is FAR from that.

Just keeping it real.

Over the last few months since moving, I’ve floated from here to there in our house depending on my mood, the weather, and even how far I want to stumble when I wake up in the morning.

Should I not feel the need to venture too far, the rocker right next to my side of the bed makes a lovely place for an early morning devotional time. With the early morning light coming in through the door and a nice breeze, this is a wonderful spot for a bit of quiet and time focusing on some Scripture.

Or maybe in the chair right off our kitchen {and close to the Keurig, a.k.a. coffee}.

Lately though, my preferred place to sit and ponder is one of our patio chairs. With a little end table next to me, it’s the perfect place to sit, relax, be surrounded by the wonderful sounds of nature in the morning and have a spot to keep my coffee nearby. Very nearby.

I have a basket that is full of the books and studies that I am currently using during my study time so I can just grab it and go when I am ready.  Here’s a peek at what has recently been in my basket…

~ Ministry of Motherhood by Sally Clarkson

~ My Bible

~ Faithful. Abundant. True. {a Bible study I did with a group of ladies at church}

~ Our 24 Family Ways by Clay Clarkson {learning the layout before we start}

~ Ministry of Motherhood binder to keep all of my SOAP {verse studies} in one place

~ 31 Days to Clean

A typical morning involves me making a cup of coffee {unless my hubby is home and has already put one together for me}. A most important first step ~ grins. I’ve been reading through Ministry of Motherhood and doing the daily Scripture reading for the last 6 weeks, so I pull out my binder and Bible and focus on the verse for the day using the S.O.A.P. method {writing our the Scripture, writing down a few observations, applying it to my life, and writing out a prayer}. I have LOVED this method and hope to continue using it long after this study is completed. Some mornings I’ll read in the go-along book or do a devotional from one of my other books too ~ just depends largely in part to my mood. 

Mornings are really the best time for me because it helps bring focus to my day and I can definitely tell when I have missed out on my quiet time and need a little break to reevaluate things. :)

What does your quiet time place look like? Do you have a set place to sit down and focus, or will any spot do? See what other moms are saying over at Granola Mom for God.

 

Marveling at God’s Wonders ~ Week 6 Ministry of Motherhood

“A child who does not have the opportunity to marvel at the bigness of God, the wonders of His creation, and the reality of His supernatural work will tend to measure the questions about ‘who God is’ according to his or her finite, limited perspective.”

~ Sally Clarkson, Ministry of Motherhood, p. 85

This past week we read chapters 7 and 8 of Ministry of Motherhood along with the daily Scripture readings {SOAP}. The topic continued on with giving our children the gift of inspiration and helping them understand God’s purpose for their lives.

I’ll be honest and tell you that I’m not the greatest in calling the kids over to say “Look!” and take the time to marvel at all that’s around us. The reality of it looks a little more like this…

I’m perched in a deck chair with the camera after getting the hummingbird feeder set up and anxiously waiting for the hummingbirds to show up so I can watch and get some great pic. One of the kids slams open the screen door and the hummingbird that was just getting ready to eat from the feeder flies off in terror. I’m frustrated and ask the kids to please sit still, watch and BE QUIET.

Child #2 comes out following the same sequence while Child #1 continues to rattle on talking while I get frustrated again that neither of them can be quiet and watch.

Repeat until I hit the point of frustration realizing that no hummingbird is returning for us to watch, so I just want to go off quietly by myself the next time to marvel at God’s creation and shoo my kids off somewhere else. The End.

I’d rather hog the beauty most times that deal with the noise and endless questions produced by my children. Gracious, no?

So…..I’ve really been focusing much this week on pointing out the little things throughout the day. Listening to the woodpecker in the woods behind our house and trying to spot him. Going blackberry picking with Kaleb and stopping to look at each and every Daddy Long Leg and be amazed at the many different spiders God created. Examine each and every bug brought to me. Marvel at the tiny bird’s eggs in the fern on our front porch. Look at amazement in the variety of colors that our silly chickens have on their feathers.

And contemplating the wonders of God’s creations through their eyes {and it’s been good}. :)

“…as they learn to treasure God’s presence in what is seen – the lilies and the sunsets and the embrace of those they love – they also learn to live by the conviction of things that are unseen {Hebrews 11:1} – to walk joyfully in the light of God’s powerful and supernatural presence.”

~ ~ Sally Clarkson, Ministry of Motherhood, p. 86

 

This week I have a question for you all:  What is YOUR favorite way to share the bigness of God with your children?

A few links…

~ My Blog Frog forums ~ several threads are going where we’re talking about the daily S.O.A.P. and our thoughts on the part of the book we’re reading.

~ Good Morning Girls Ministry of Motherhood posts

~ If you haven’t already, please be sure to fill out this quick survey and answer a few questions for me. I’m trying to create an email list to keep better in touch with all of you ladies, and this will help me out a bunch!

With all that said ~ start linking up and sharing what God showed you this week!

An Unlikely Suitor {Book Review & Giveaway}

Forced to quickly find a new place for herself, her sister and mother to live, Lucy Scarpelli happens upon a dress shop that has an apartment for rent and room for help in the dress shop. Lucy quickly proves that she has an eye for design and she befriends one of the young socialites, Rowena, that is a customer of the shop.

The unusual friendship results in Lucy traveling to help with some design work at the family’s home in Newport, Rhode Island where she meets an intriguing man while out for her daily walk. Their meetings become more frequent, but a relationship seems out of the question due to their social standings.

Rowena is expected to marry the son of her father’s business partner and is trying desperately to love him and be loved in return. She sees little chance for marriage otherwise because of a childhood accident that left her crippled.

Each person holds secrets that they are unwilling to share with others, but all are entwined in ways they have yet to discover. Will they be able to open their hearts and discover true love and honesty with each other or return home broken-hearted?

My Thoughts

I have to admit that I’m a sucker for book covers, and An Unlikely Suitor was one that caught my eye. While the book cover was what first drew me to the book, the story line kept me awake for hours reading at night. Nancy Moser pulls together the stories of three young girls: Lucy, Rowena and Lucy’s younger sister, Sofia, and weaves a wonderful story set during the Gilded Age {last third of the 19th century} ~ from the tenements of NYC to the mansions of Rhode Island.

It wasn’t until the end of the story that I realized that the characters in this story were actually introduced in another one of Moser’s books, Masquerade, as the family that helped provide shelter to Lottie when she arrived in America {I love it when books tie together like that!}.

About the Author

Nancy Moser is the author of over twenty novels, including Mozart's Sister, Just Jane, and Christy Award finalist Washington's Lady. She's earned a degree in architecture, traveled extensively in Europe, and has performed in numerous theaters, symphonies, and choirs. She paints canes, kills all her houseplants, and is a fan of anything antique--humans included.

~ Visit Nancy Moser’s website

~ Follow Nancy on Facebook

~ Buy An Unlikely Suitor from Amazon

The Giveaway

Would you like to win a copy of An Unlikely Suitor by Nancy Moser? I have one copy to mail to one of my readers! Leave a comment on this post ~ be sure there is a way for me to contact you. The giveaway will be open until Wednesday, June 29th, 2011.

This book was provided for review by Bethany House. All opinions expressed in this review are solely my own.

The Hummingbird ~ Wordless Wednesday

Spring Reading Thing 2011 ~ Wrap-up

My original Spring Reading Thing list seems rather tiny looking back at it, but I typically end up adding new books as they are available for review and this year I had the added benefit of freebies that I’ve found for my Kindle. I’ve been reading much more at night before bed and it’s really helped my sleeping habits too ~ go figure!

Katrina asked a few questions in her round-up post for the Spring Reading Thing and there were two that I really wanted to answer.

1. What was your favorite book that you read this spring? Why

My favorite book this spring was Jewel of Persia by Roseanna White. I have always loved books about the life of Queen Esther and this was a different twist on the story, but absolutely amazing. The depth of the characters and story line were remarkable and I was really sad to have the story end.

2. Least favorite? Why?

On the flip side, I read another story based on the life of Esther, A Reluctant Queen by Joan Wolf, and after reading it I actually refused to review it because I was so irritated by the complete rewriting of the story that the author took. While I understand taking liberties to write fiction, I am firmly against changing FACTS to make a story more ‘appealing’, especially when it comes to Bible stories {but maybe that’s just me}.

3. Did you discover a new author or genre this spring?

Historical fiction has always been a favorite of mine and I’m honestly getting picky about what books gain a spot on my bookshelves. I purchased a few books for my Kindle by Roseanna White because they were priced in a great range ~ $3.00. I’d never read anything by her, but thanks to a blog post from Kaye Dacus, I downloaded Jewel of Persia to my Kindle. As soon as I was finished with that one, I quickly downloaded A Stray Drop of Blood. Even though I have them on my Kindle, I will be purchasing them in paperback format also because I loved them that much….and really want her to write many more books to keep my busy.

Here’s the list of the books that I’ve completed during the Spring Reading Thing ~ a grand total of 25 books, which really surprises me. I believe that is greatly in part to my Kindle, since 14 of them were read on it {I marked all Kindle books with an asterisk}. All of the books not on my original Spring Reading Thing list are listed in the {added} section.

Still Reading…

~ Ordinary Mom, Extraordinary God by Mary Demuth

~ {added} Ministry of Motherhood by Sally Clarkson

~ {added} One Thousand Gifts by Anne Voskamp

Completed Fiction and Non-Fiction

~ The Lightkeeper’s Ball by Colleen Coble

~ Serendipity by Cathy Marie Hake

~ Mine is the Night by Liz Curtis Higgs

~ The Art of Romance by Kaye Dacus

~ The Waiting by Suzanne Woods Fisher

~ The Search by Suzanne Woods Fisher

~ An Unlikely Suitor by Nancy Moser

~ Seasons of a Mother’s Heart by Sally Clarkson

{all below were added to my list and completed}

~ The House at Riverton by Kate Morton

~ Paid in Blood by Mel Odum *

~ Jewel of Persia by Roseanna White *

~ A Stray Drop of Blood by Roseanna White *

~ Paper Roses by Amanda Cabot *

~ A Tailor-Made Bride by Karen Witemyeter *

~ A Vote of Confidence by Robin Lee Hatcher *

~ A Reluctant Queen by Joan Wolf *

~ The Lady of Bolton Hill by Elizabeth Camden

~ A Vision of Lucy by Margaret Brownley *

~ Hidden Affections by Delia Parr

~ Beyond All Measure by Dorothy Love *

~ Somewhere to Belong by Judith Miller *

~ Whisper on the Wind by Maureen Lang *

~ Blood Ransom by Lisa Harris *

~ Spring for Susannah by Catherine Richmond *

~ 31 Days to Clean by Sara Mae *

Spring Reading Thing 2011 is hosted annually by Katrina at Callapidder Days and runs from March 20th til June 20th. Be sure to visit her wrap-up post and see what others read and discovered during the past three months!

The Gift of Inspiration ~ Week 5 Ministry of Motherhood

“Each of our children has been given a specific personality and a particular set of circumstances that will give shape to God’s purpose for his or her life.”

~ Sally Clarkson, Ministry of Motherhood, p. 66

This past week we focused on reading chapters 5 and 6 of Ministry of Motherhood along with the daily Scripture readings {SOAP}.  The main focus of the chapters is talking about giving our children the gift of inspiration or helping them understand God’s purpose for their lives.

Although I don’t do it every evening, there are many nights that our prayers with the kids are thanking God for the purpose He has for their lives. These chapters were a great reminder and prompting for me to carry this over into our daily lives with the kids and encourage them in the little things that they do.

The problem for me frequently lies in the fact that I get so caught up in the little stuff, the day-to-day things of raising kids and running a household that I fail to see the ‘bigger purpose’ in my role as a mother. Yes, there are always going to be things that have to be done in our house and in educating our children, but it is so easy to get distracted!! I love this gentle reminder from Sally:

“Giving our children the gift of inspiration ~ helping them understand their spiritual purpose, which is to glorify God and to make Him known ~ is one of the most crucial tasks of Christian parenting."

p. 66, Ministry of Motherhood

Each one of our children has been given special gifts and talents that were placed in them to glorify God ~ not just for their own purposes! Our role as parents is to help them in their walk with God and direct them to see the potential that those gifts can have for the kingdom of God.

This week I’ve been trying to sit back and look at each of our kids and the gifts that we can already see blossoming in each of them:

Laurianna ~ artistic. encouraging. tender-hearted. focused.

McKenna ~ tender. passionate. fun-loving. dramatic.

Zachary ~ determined. passionate. inquisitive. friendly.

Kaleb ~ compassionate. tender. loving.

I can encourage my children daily in the things that they are doing and in the gifts that they possess in so many ways ~ and pray that I do that more consistently so they more deeply understand how they can use those gifts for God’s glory!

A few links…

~ My Blog Frog forums ~ several threads are going where we’re talking about the daily S.O.A.P. and our thoughts on the part of the book we’re reading.

~ Good Morning Girls Ministry of Motherhood posts

With all that said ~ start linking up and sharing what God showed you this week!

A New Swimmer

This year Zachary officially made swim team. By the skin of his teeth. The rule was that they had to be able to swim across the pool, and technically Zachary did more flailing than swimming, but he did it.

Our first meet was this past Tuesday and here and he was ready to compete…

He flailed swam his little heart out across the pool  in his first ever 25 M Freestyle competition. He made it across the pool without stopping/touching for the third time ever and clocked in at 54.95 seconds.

Have to leave room for improvement, right?

Ministry of Motherhood Book Club ~ Week 4

This past week we focused on reading chapter 3 and 4 of Ministry of Motherhood and answering the questions at the end of chapter 4.

I don’t know about you all, but I really NEED these chapters, but they are s-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g me. In a good way. :)

In all honesty, the hardest thing for me is finding a way to balance the need for discipline and still extend grace. I’ll admit that there is a lot of fear in my heart relating to the balance. There is obviously a need for discipline in everyday life to maintain order and sanity…or my kids would be going nuts at mealtimes and any sense of decorum would be out the window.

Much of that though also has to do with HOW the discipline is administered. There’s a nice way and then there is the way that is frequently present when Mommy has reached her absolute limit of patience and completely loses it over something really, really insignificant.

It’s in this area that I am consistently failing, berating myself over how horrible of a mother and trying to figure out what I can do to change things.

And in all honesty…I cannot change things.

Hear me out.

The only way things are going to change is if I relinquish the ever-precious control that I’m clinging too and allow God to work through me in all the little things. Because He cares about the tiniest of details in my life. Especially if that means pouring more grace into my tired and weary heart so that it can overflow to my children and minister to them.

All I have to do is ask.

With the words that flow from my mouth I can either bring life or proverbial death to my children. They remember the things that are spoken over them and I do NOT want their spirits to be broken because I refused to let go of my pride, my control and turn to God for help.

This past week I’ve been praying for balance in all that I do with the kids. That my words would be tempered with patience and be ones that do not injure but bring life to their hearts. Instead of nagging, I’m trying to encourage.

Have I been perfect. Ummm….no. But in the process I have had one of our children open up to me in a way that she hasn’t in the past ~ which was a big encouragement to me. :)

Only by the grace of God…

Here’s my question for you ~ how do YOU all balance the grace and discipline in your house?

A few links…

~ Book Discussion for Week 4 @ Blog Frog

~ Daily S.O.A.P. discussions @ Blog Frog

~ Good Morning Girls Ministry of Motherhood posts

~ If you haven’t already, please be sure to fill out this quick survey and answer a few questions for me. I’m trying to create an email list to keep better in touch with all of you ladies, and this will help me out a bunch!

With all that said ~ start linking up and sharing what God showed you this week!

Do As I Say…Not as I Do

It doesn’t matter how long you are at the pool {or think you will be in the water}, you WILL put sunblock on.

Or at least I’ll put it on all of you…but forget to put it on myself.

Ouch would be an understatement.

Truly.

The kids, however, think that the white loops on my back are hilarious because they look like a pig’s snout.

Really not helping me feel better.

Free Books for Your Kindle!

I absolutely love my Kindle that I purchased from Amazon a bit after Christmas. The biggest plus is the lack of backlighting which helps out much for nighttime reading {and sleeping for me!} and the text also shows up great in bright sunlight. I also love that many publishers offer full-length freebies for readers to download and keep to read at any time. 

Many of you have seen me posting occasionally about the freebies and told me that you don’t have an actual Kindle reader. BUT did you know that you don’t have a Kindle in order to download the free books?

Amazon offers several other options for reading the books without the actual Kindle. Here are a few:

~ Kindle app for your iPad, iTouch or Droid

~ Kindle for your PC or Mac

Of course, I will say that I have several of the apps and also have it on my laptop, but I am absolutely in love with my Kindle. I have been reading so much more and found some amazing authors thanks to the many freebies that have been offered over the last several months. I have a library of over 100 books currently and have only paid for TWO of the books on my Kindle ~ and both of those were only $3 each!!

How cool is that?

If you are in the market for a Kindle there are several different options available for you to choose from, ranging in price from $114 to $189 with free s/h: Kindle with wifi and Special Offers {$114}, Kindle with wifi only {$139), Kindle wifi and 3G with Special Offers {$164} and Kindle with wifi and 3G {$189}

I’m starting Kindle Freebies page behind the scenes that will have an Amazon carousel of many current freebies available. I try to change them out quickly when they go off ‘free’ so be sure to check the price before you add it to your cart. :) Just look for this button in my sidebar, click on it and it will take you to the freebies page. Check it frequently since I will be updating it weekly!

I know that there are other books available for download, but the ones I’ll be listing will typically be Christian fiction/non-fiction and the newest ones to release as freebies.

Here’s a peek at the current freebies:

 

Have fun reading!

Note: Many of the Kindle freebies are also available as free downloads from Barnes & Noble for Nook readers also. I just typically spend most of my time on Amazon {ahem}.

Ministry of Motherhood Book Club ~ Week 3

This past week we focused on reading chapters 1 and 2 of Ministry of Motherhood which started talking about the ‘G’ part of the Gifts acronym that Sally Clarkson introduced in our reading last week.

Grace.

Something that I am generally lacking. I have a tendency to err more on the ‘this is the way it is and there is no other way’ side of things {for the record, it isn’t working well}.

I know that there are many things I need to change in my relationship with my children/family and grace is one of the key areas that needs to be addressed.

My Thoughts This Week

There was a point this week that I seriously just wanted to laugh. Well, really cry. My patience had reached it’s max right around 8:12am after two siblings had literally been kicking and screaming at each other and then one of the kids THREW something at me when I left their room after a failed attempt at discipline.

I don’t take kindly to being told what to do and especially not having something thrown at me.

Just keeping it real here, people.

I am so not perfect and I just about snapped at the point the object flew past my head. And I just started praying. And praying. And praying.

God’s been dealing with me for a long time on grace and I’m just really slow to pick up the gazillion hints he’s been dropping my way, and I am most thankful for the timing of this study in my life right now. Especially the accountability factor in having the book club and friends nearby who are reading {and struggling} along with me.

My favorite verse this week was John 21:4-14 {specifically vs. 5-7}

“He called out, ‘Friends, have you caught any fish?’ ‘No,’ they replied. Then He said, ‘Throw out your net on the right-hand side of the boat and you’ll get plenty of fish!’ So they did and there were so many fish in it.

I know that passage was pointed out in the book for another reason, but this part of the passage jumped out at me. The disciples had been fishing in the same area before Jesus called out to them. Same water. Same nets. Same boat. I’m sure they had tried casting their nets from the left side of the boat and the right side too!

The difference was they couldn’t do it on their own. When Jesus stepped in, the entire dynamic of the situation changed.

When I try to do things on my own and in my own strength, I won’t accomplish much of anything other than frustration and failure. BUT with God’s help, the opposite is true.

Lord, help me turn to you in ALL things.

A few links…

~ In case you missed it, I guest posted this week over at Good Morning Girls! Be sure to stop over and say hi to them!!

~ My Blog Frog forums ~ several threads are going where we’re talking about the daily S.O.A.P. and our thoughts on the part of the book we’re reading.

~ Good Morning Girls Ministry of Motherhood posts

~ If you haven’t already, please be sure to fill out this quick survey and answer a few questions for me. I’m trying to create an email list to keep better in touch with all of you ladies, and this will help me out a bunch!

With all that said ~ start linking up and sharing what God showed you this week!

p.s. If you’d like to join in, there’s still time! We just chapters 1 and 2  of Ministry of Motherhood by Sally Clarkson and still have 9 weeks left in the 12 week study! You can find the reading schedule for the duration of the book club in this post.

Creek Splashing ~ Wordless Wednesday