Life Lessons

  • Happy Valentine’s Day: Every Love Story….

    I am thankful for an amazing family.  My husband is the love of my life.  Today is a great day to share just a few of the reasons why I love my man so much! 🙂

    • Jake encourages me to continue to grow and learn.
    • Jake cooks delicious meals
    • Jake loves me for who I am
    • Jake cleans and pitches in around the house
    • Jake works hard to provide for our family
    • Jake is my best friend and my life partner
    • Jake is the leader of our family
    • Jake is generous and kind
    • Jake is considerate
    • Jake is an amazing Daddy to our girls
    • Jake is the spiritual leader for our family
    • Jake spends time with our family
    • Jake can make me laugh
    • Jake knows how to make me feel loved and appreciated
    • There are many reasons why I LOVE YOU JAKE!

    Photo Credit

  • Heart Reflections: You Think You’re Safe

    Birds Nest Safely hidden away

    One day as our family was spending time outside cleaning up the yard and gardens something caught my eye.  In one of our small holly trees was a little birds nest.  It was nestled snugly into the trees branches with a road only a couple feet away, across the street from a cat, and on our side of the yard where a dog and kids were running around.   The nest was so low to the ground that the girls were able to look into it.  For weeks they kept checking to see if the bird was coming back.

    It must have been a quiet day on our street for a bird to think that the location she had chosen was a good one especially with it being next to a road, cat, dog, kids, and close to the ground.  The bird must have felt safe in the shelter of the tree despite all the danger around her.  As I thought more about the little bird who lived in that nest it made me think about my life.  How often do I go through life thinking my heart, life, and soul is safe?

    I believe the bird felt protection and safety from the tiny leaves surrounding the nest, however, danger was all around it.  As we go through life we will encounter hills and valleys.  Sometimes we have a false sense of security in things (money in the bank, our health, family unity, etc…) much like the false sense of security the leaves provided the bird.

    Yes, bad things happen to good people, but there are ways to help protect us from falling and that teach us how to be a better Child of God, Wife, Mom, and Friend.

    • Personal Relationship with Him – a heart focused above
    • Reading the Scriptures – not only does this bring you knowledge but it gives you hope, wisdom, and encouragement.
    • Prayer – an on-going dialogue

    Someone recently asked the question in our church Community Group – how much time did you spend reading God’s word this week?  Honestly, my answer some weeks is pretty embarrassing.  I often fill my days with good activities but somehow neglect the most important activity.  Taking time to read God’s word, pray, and having a personal relationship with Him is the best way to not only find contentment but to truly be safe and protected.

    The birds nest is easily seen from up above much like God sees me.  He sees my heart, accepts me for who I am, and challenges me to grow.    Where is your safety found?

    A beautifully crafted bird nest exposed to the world. 

    Love seeing the handiwork of God’s creatures, simply amazing!

  • Free Audio Book: “Trusting God” by Jerry Bridges

    For the month of February Christian Audio is offering a free download of their audio book .  This month the audio book is Trusting God by Jerry Bridges.

    Because obeying God makes sense to us. In most cases, His laws appear reasonable and wise, and even when we don’t want to obey them, we usually concede that they are good for us. But the circumstances we find ourselves in often defy explanation. (information from Christian Audio)

    If you have been wanting to a book to listen to throughout the day or while driving then this is a great opportunity to get a book for free when you download it from Christian Audio in February.   Make sure to submit your order by February 29, 2012  to get your free audio book.  Thanks Christian Audio!

  • What Do You See – a Mess or a Race Track?!

    After lunch one Sunday the girls were instructed to pick up the newspaper after they were finished looking at it while Jake and I worked for a few minutes on our schedules for the upcoming week.  After about thirty minutes or so I came back into the kitchen and this is what I saw…..my first thought was “seriously, what a huge mess!”  Instead of picking up the papers they had spread all of them over the kitchen and dining room floors.  When asked as to why they didn’t pick “up” the newspaper they told me “Well we decided that it would make a great race track!”

    Although the mess was big I had to hold back from laughing.  It was a pretty cool looking race track even if it was a mess.    They were quite proud of their “track”.  So despite the fact the kitchen and dining room looked like they were carpeted with newspaper and ads I decided to let them enjoy it for the afternoon as long as they would pick it up before we left for Awana that evening.

    The silly part is that they had a blast with the newspaper.  Who would have ever thought that a newspaper could provide so much entertainment.  They rebuilt the roads several times, added new vehicles, used it as a walking track, and several other silly things all in that one afternoon.  In a matter of hours that newspaper got more love and provided more entertainment then all the other newspapers we have ever received put together.  And the best part, when asked to pick it up (the second time) the girls did it happily and in a matter of a couple of minutes.

    So was it worth me having to endure a messy house for a few hours?  Absolutely!  The girls had fun, they used their imaginations, were creative, and played well together.  The problem is I don’t always “react” well when I see a mess someone in my family has created whether intentionally or unintentionally.  Sometimes I am more worried about the mess they are making that I don’t allow them to just have fun.  Yes, having a clean has is important but if the house is always perfect then a race track would never happen.

    It was worth a temporary messy house to hear the girls giggling together over a silly newspaper converted into a race track.  Thankfully this time around I gave into just enjoying the fun moment and waited to clean up the mess later.  What do you see – the mess or the race track?

  • Intentional Living: Weekly Goals

    Last week was busy with  Jake having a couple travel days with work and everyone fully back into the regular schedule with work and school.  As we move into the middle of the first month of 2012 I am reminded of all the goals that I want to accomplish this year.  The best part about staying on top of the goals (weekly check ins) is it points me back to my true priorities and provides stepping stones to where I want to be in the next year, 5 years, and more.

    Here is the update on last weeks goals:

    Family Goals

    1. Spend 1-on-1 time with each child everyday
    2. Read a book to the girls everyday
    3. Have each girl read 1 book to myself or Jake 5 days this week – we did four nights so not quite 5 this week
    4. Set up a Date Night for Jake & I and a Date Night for the Kids – got Jake’s set up but need to get a date on the calendar for the girls
    5. Thank You notes written and sent for the Christmas Gifts – written, stamped, and addressed will go in the mail Tuesday 1/17

    Personal Goals

    1. Exercise – walk at least 5 days this week YAY! I stuck with it this week and did it!!! 🙂
    2. Go to bed by 10:30 pm or earlier Monday to Thursday – need to work on getting better on this one
    3. Finish reading The 60-Minute Money Workout by Ellie Kay
    4. Read and listen to the next section of  Desiring God: Finding Complete Satisfaction and Joy in God by John Piper (our church Community Group is going through this book together).

    Home Management Goals

    1. All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day
    2. Weekly Dinner Menu planned and written by Monday
    3. Spend 30 minutes every day picking up / cleaning the house
    4. Dinner ready by 5:30 PM (Monday through Thursday)
    5. Spend time re-organizing and de-cluttering the office

    Business Goals

    1. Pay all bills that come in the mail this week
    2. Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts
    3. Spend 10 minutes a day cleaning and organizing my desk
    4. Plan new implementations for blog – just didn’t get to it this week with all the other activities
    5. Schedule client meetings at least 2 weeks in advance

    Ministry Goals

    1. Email our weekly Community Group update including upcoming events on the calendar, praises, and prayer requests
    2. Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
    3. Write and send out Meeting Notes from our January Alms & Legs Team Ministry meeting

    Financial Goals

    1. Stay within Budget on Groceries $40 for 4 – went over $40 budget but had enough cash to cover the groceries
    2. Emergency Fund – start saving 3 months worth of living expenses – started working on it this week but not completed yet

    Here are my goals for the upcoming week:

    Family Goals

    1. Spend 1-on-1 time with each child everyday
    2. Read a book to the girls everyday
    3. Have each girl read 1 book to myself or Jake 5 days this week
    4. Go on my Date Night with Jake (we got free movie tickets so excited to enjoy some time away together)
    5. Get the girls Birthday Party Details Started

    Personal Goals

    1. Exercise – walk at least 5 days this week
    2. Go to bed by 10:30 pm or earlier Monday to Thursday
    3. Finish reading Crush It by Gary Vaynerchuk
    4. Read and listen to the next section of  Desiring God: Finding Complete Satisfaction and Joy in God by John Piper (our church Community Group is going through this book together).
    5. Get my Travel Visa Application Sent

    Home Management Goals

    1. All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day
    2. Weekly Dinner Menu planned and written by Monday
    3. Spend 30 minutes every day picking up / cleaning the house
    4. Dinner ready by 5:30 PM (Monday through Thursday)
    5. Spend time re-organizing and de-cluttering the office
    6. Update Family & Friends Contact Information

    Business Goals

    1. Pay all bills that come in the mail this week
    2. Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts
    3. Spend 10 minutes a day cleaning and organizing my desk
    4. Plan new implementations for blog
    5. Work on 2011 business taxes

    Ministry Goals

    1. Email our weekly Community Group update including upcoming events on the calendar, praises, and prayer requests
    2. Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch

    Financial Goals

    1. Stay within Budget on Groceries $40 for 4
    2. Emergency Fund – save 3 months worth of living expenses
    3. Start working on our personal 2011 taxes

    I think it is important to share and encourage each other as we seek to improve our lives and the lives of those around us.  I want to live intentionally not just hope all my dreams and goals come true.  When I focus on small steps of improvement I am able to see results as I get closer to my goals.  Some weeks I get closer to the goals I have in my life and other weeks a take a few steps back (life happens, emergencies occur, people get sick).  Once the goals are written down and shared it provides a guideline for what I aim to accomplish this week.

    Why Share My Goals?

    • To keep me accountable
    • To share a piece of my life with you as I strive to be a better Child of God, Wife, Mom, Friend, Homemaker, Entrepreneur and the many other roles I have each week
    • To have my goals consistently written down so I can gauge progress more accurately
    • Create healthy habits in my life
    • To encourage you to share your goals with me as you continue to grown and learn

    How did you do this week on your goals?  Feel free to share or link to your list of weekly goals.

    The picture above is one that I created for my own purposes, however, The “SMART” acronym was originally coined 30 years ago by Peter Drucker in his classic work, Management by Results