A Prayer for The New Year: I Hold Up My Life to You Now

Rev. Ted Loder


Patient God,
the clock struck midnight
and I partied with a strange sadness in my heart,
confusion in my mind.

Now, I ask you
to gather me,
for I realize
the storms of time have scattered me,
the furies of the year past have driven me,
many sorrows have scarred me,
many accomplishments have disappointed me,
much activity has wearied me,
and fear has spooked me
into a hundred hiding places,
one of which is pretended gaiety.

I'm sick of a string of "nice days."
What I want is passionate days,
wondrous days,
dangerous days,
blessed days,
surprising days.
What I want is you!

Patient God, I hold up my life to you now,
as much as I can,
as high as I can,
in this mysterious reach called prayer.

Help me not to let my life slip away from me.
Come close, lest I wobble and fall short.
It is not days or years I seek from you,
not infinity and enormity,
but small things and moments of awareness,
awareness that you are in what I am
and in what I have been indifferent to.

It is not new time I seek,
but new eyes,
a new heart,
and you, always you.

O Patient God,
make something new in me,
in this year,
for you, for others,
for the abundance of this life lived in your presence.

Amen.

God's Pharmacy

A friend sent this to me. It's been said that God first separated the salt water from the fresh, made dry land, planted a garden, made animals and fish... all before making a human. He made and provided what we'd need before we were born. These are best & more powerful when eaten raw. We're such slow learners...

God left us a great clue as to what foods help what part of our body!

God's Pharmacy! Amazing!

A sliced Carrot looks like the human eye. The pupil, iris and radiating lines look just like the human eye... and YES, science now shows carrots greatly enhance blood flow to and function of the eyes.


A Tomato has four chambers and is red. The heart has four chambers and is red. All of the research shows tomatoes are loaded with lycopine
and are indeed pure heart and blood food.

Grapes hang in a cluster that has the shape of the heart. Each grape looks like a blood cell and all of the research today shows grapes are
also profound heart and blood vitalizing food.

A Walnut looks like a little brain, a left and right hemisphere, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums. Even the wrinkles or folds on the nut are just like the neo-cortex. We now know walnuts help develop more than three (3) dozen neuron-transmitters for brain function.

Kidney Beans actually heal and help maintain kidney function and yes, they look exactly like the human kidneys.

Celery, Bok Choy, Rhubarb and many more look just like bones. These
foods specifically target bone strength. Bones are 23% sodium and these foods are 23%sodium. If you don't have enough sodium in your diet, the body pulls it from the bones, thus making them weak. These foods replenish the skeletal needs of the body.

Avocados, Eggplant and Pears target the health and function of the
womb and cervix of the female - they look just like these organs.Today's research shows that when a woman eats one avocado a week, it balances hormones, sheds unwanted birth weight, and prevents cervical cancers. And how profound is this? It takes exactly nine (9) months to grow an avocado from blossom to ripened fruit. There are over 14,000 photolytic chemical constituents of nutrition in each one of
these foods (modern science has only studied and named about 141 of them).

Figs are full of seeds and hang in twos when they grow. Figs increase the mobility of male sperm and increase the numbers of Sperm as well
to overcome male sterility.

Sweet Potatoes look like the pancreas and actually balance the
glycemic index of diabetics.

Olives assist the health and function of the ovaries.

Oranges, Grapefruits, and other Citrus fruits look just like the mammary glands of the female and actually assist the health of the breasts and
the movement of lymph in and out of the breasts.

Onions look like the body's cells. Today's research shows onions help clear waste materials from all of the body cells. They even produce
tears which wash the epithelial layers of the eyes. A working companion, Garlic, also helps eliminate waste materials and dangerous free radicals from the body.

Tips For An Exceptional, Superb & Powerful Life

Tips for an Exceptional, Superb & Powerful Life!

1.) Take a 10-30 minute walk every day. And while you walk, smile. It is the ultimate antidepressant.

2.) Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day.Buy a lock if you have to.

3.) Buy a Tivo (DVR), tape your late night shows and get more sleep.

4.) When you wake up in the morning ask yourself, "What do I really, really, really want today?"

5.) Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm, and Empathy.

6.) Watch more movies, play more games and read more books than you did last year.

7.) Always pray and make time to exercise.

8.) Spend more time with people over the age of 70 and under the age of Six.

9.) Dream more while you are awake.

10.) Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less foods that are manufactured in plants.

11.) Drink green tea and plenty of water. Eat blueberries, wild Alaskan salmon, broccoli, almonds & walnuts.

12.) Try to make at least three people smile each day.

13.) Clear your clutter from your house, your car, your desk and let new and flowing energy into your life.

14.) Don't waste your precious energy on gossip, energy vampires, issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead, invest your
energy in the positive present moment.

15.) Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class .......but the
lessons you learn will last a lifetime.

16.) Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a college kid with a maxed out chargecard.

17.) Smile and laugh more. It will keep the energy vampires away.

18.) Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

19.) Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

20.) Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

21.) You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

22.) Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.

23.) Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

24.) Ladies - Go on and burn those 'special' scented candles, use the 600 thread count sheets, the good china and wear our fancy lingerie now. Stop waiting for a special occasion. Everyday is special.

25.) No one is in charge of your happiness except you.

26.) Frame every so-called disaster with these words: 'In five years, will this matter?'

27.) Forgive everyone for everything.

28.) What other people think of you is none of your business.

29.) Time heals almost everything. Give time, time!

30.) However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

31.) Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch with them.

32.) Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.

33.) Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need. God provides remember?!

34.) The best is yet to come.

35.) No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

36.) Do the right thing!

37.) Call your friends/family often.

38.) Each night before you go to bed complete the following statement: 'I am thankful for __________.'

39.) Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed.

40.) Enjoy the ride. Remember that this is not Disney World and you certainly don't want a fast pass. You only have one ride through life so make the most of it
and enjoy the ride.

LIVE, LOVE, LAUGH. LIFE'S A GIFT ... UNWRAP IT! Have a Blessed day. Please share with friends!
(Received list in an email from a friend-source unknow.)

A Boy with a Driving Permit

On January 17th, my oldest son turned 15 years old. Well, here in Missouri, that means driver permit time! On January 18th, we went to the Missouri Motor Vehicle Driver's testing office and Connor took the written exam and passed! He now has a Missouri Driver's Permit License in his wallet! Oh boy! I feel so old! I have a son who will be driving on his own in 11 short months.....YIKES!

On the 18th, he asked me if he could drive home after he got his permit. The answer was a firm, NO. I needed to have a drink and relax before getting in the car with him behind the wheel. No really, I wouldn't think about drinking and letting my son drive! My dad was at my house when we got home & Connor talked his poppy into taking him to Cosmo Park and letting him drive through the park. They came home and Dad told me, while trying not to laugh, that he did very well.

I got the nerve up to let him drive that afternoon and evening around town, trying to avoid any roads that had traffic or vehicles on them. In Columbia, that's not possible! Maybe at 2:00 am in the morning but not during day light hours! He drove down Stadium, while I braced myself in the passengers seat with my foot on the pretend break! He did pretty well. We need to work on the stopping and starting. I am sure that a couple of times I was close to having whiplash! The most exciting part of our driving experience that day was driving into our garage! As we pulled into our driveway, I told Connor to make sure that he clears both sides of the van and make sure that he doesn't hit the mirrors. He got a little close and I told him to back up a little and straighten out the vehicle some, well, instead of backing out a little, he backed out all the way to the road! While we were driving back up the drive into the garage door, I proceed to tell him to take it slow and when he reaches the ball hanging down to STOP!!!! He reached it before I could finish telling him what to do! He comes to a screeching stop and I am relieved to be stopped and getting out of the vehicle at that time!

The next day we were going to KC to a soccer tournament. He asked me several times if he could drive some more. Well, it will be a very long time before he is allowed to drive on I70 but I would consider letting him drive on Highway 50 when we head to Sedalia on Sunday evening from KC. I do let him drive from Warrensburg to Sedalia. We had 2 very exciting moments on that little trip! One a car was turning right off of the highway onto a side road, Connor is driving full speed and I'm trying to tell him that he can get in the passing lane and pass him but make sure their are no cars in that lane....well he had to put on the breaks before he could look and get over! Second, we have a little trouble when we come up on a big curve. He is driving with the cruise control on and as we approach this curve, I start to tell him that he will want to put his foot of the pedal so he has control over the vehicle and the speed of the car because sometimes it picks up speed around curves. We picked up speed until he put his foot on the break to slow down.

The really awesome thing about the drive from Warrensburg to Sedalia is that each time he was tested in his driving skills, we smelled a skunk! You may ask-soo? What's so great about that? My grandfather, who was killed in a car wreck when I was in 8th grade, loved the smell of a skunk-he said it clear his nostiles! Everytime I am on the highway driving and I smell a skunk, I think of my grandfather and smile and know that my guardian angel is with me on the road. My grandpa was with Connor and I and I felt a little more secure after smelling the skunk. When we got to my Mom & Dad's, I asked them if the smelled the skunks coming home and they didn't! Just a little more proof that I have a guardian angel :-)

I am sure that I will have some more stories about riding in the vehicle with my son! Just keep us in your prayers! I am so nervous and scared about letting him drive on his own when he turns 16 and get's his license! I am thankful that he has a whole year to become comfortable with a vehicle.

Olive Leaves: A Sign of Hope

"After seven days Noah again sent out the dove from the boat, and that evening it came back to him with a fresh olive leaf in its mouth." Genesis 8:10-11.

That verse was the focus of my devotion a couple of days ago. The devotion stuck with me so much that I wanted to share it with my you.

An olive leaf. A simple olive leaf was a symbol of hope to Noah and his family after the flood. It was hope that they were going to get off the boat soon! Hope to them was the olive leaf-evidence of dry land after the flood....

Don't we love the olive leaves of life? "We'll get through this together?" "It appears that the cancer may be in remission?"

What's more, don't we love the "doves" that bring those olive leaves?

I wrote in my journal that day:

"Olive leaves-thank you Lord for the olive leaves you present to me each day. Each day is a new beginning, an olive leaf. Help me to recognize the olive leaves that are presented to me each day. Thank you for new beginnings. Amen."

I thought is was so timely that I had blogged about the New Year, reading Beth Moore's blog about each day is a new beginning and that evening when I had my quiet time, was presented with the olive leaf. A symbol of hope! A symbol of new beginnings!

Thank you Lord for the olive leaf! I love olive leaves. And I love those who give them to me!

Resolutions?

Last year, I was so focused at the beginning of the year to blog about all of the resolutions and changes that I wanted to fulfill for the New Year. I started off pretty good, got several closets organized, started working out at least 3 times a week and then I was in a minor car accident which got me off track. I don't think I ever got back on the New Year's Resolution track after that accident. School started and I thought, this would be an excellent time to start working on the changes that I had set out to make at the beginning of the year. I started reorganizing the areas of the house that need touching up and did well the first month but once again, life took over and I am no where farther than I was on Dec 31, 2006!

As the New Year approached, I was thinking, once again, about what resolutions I would make for 2008 and decided that I was not going to make any resolutions for the year but take each month, one month at a time and try to incorporate one new habit. I would also spend time each day reflecting on 2007, the previous day, the previous week, or month and look for little changes that would have a greater impact on my life. For January 2008, my new habit is to have quiet time each day with God, to reflect and mediate. So far I have had some sort of quiet time for 4 days running! It always isn't the same time of the day but I am a least getting my quiet time in. Yesterday was right before I went to bed. Ideally, I would like to start each day with my quiet time but right now, I am happy to get some time with God each day.

I started reading Beth Moore's blog and I am going to quote what she said about new starts and resolutions:

"I told God this morning how thankful I was for His penchant for new beginnings. Just think about it. He's the one who came up with New Years so we could have an annual new start. But we don't have to wait that long. He also came up with 12 different months, 4 seasons, and 7-day increments we call weeks. But we don't even have to wait that long. Every single evening the sun goes down and calls it a day then greets us the very next morning with a whole new start. Let's face it. Sometimes a day's so tanked, it just needs to end. Aren't you glad a bad day always does? But, then again, we don't even have to wait till morning. Because of Christ, we can have a new beginning any old time."

I just loved that! I know that with God, anytime is a new beginning. I don't need a New Year, a new month or even a new day to start a beginning!

Here's to new beginnings! Happy New Year!

When God Paints

A friend sent me an email with the most beautiful pictures of nature...thought I would share them with you in a slide show....enjoy....

Words to Live By

Life is short, Break the rules, Forgive quickly, Kiss slowly, Love truly, Laugh uncontrollably, And never regret anything that made you smile....

Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we're here we should dance....

Seven Wonders of the World

This is awesome....before you click play, scroll down & pause the music playlist in red. You will what to listen to this as the video plays.....enjoy.....

Goals for Week of 10/22/07 (#1)

It's been a while since I posted about life and what I have been up to. Soccer is winding down, we have a tournament next weekend and our last weekend of league games (make-up games) so I can start focusing on life....my life. So I decided that I would post my weekly goals on Sunday of each week and revisit those goals at the end of the week to see if I accomplished them!

Here are my goals for 10.22.07:

1. Start workout program (I would really like to work up to 2 hours per day in the gym on M, T, W and F each week). I really need to get serious about losing the extra weight that I have put on over the last three years.

2. Quiet time each day at 6:45 am-before I need to wake up the girls and get them ready for school.

3. Focus on one zone a week (Flylady) and get my house back in order! This week, I will be working in the Master Bedroom! Good! I think that I am going to do some summer/winter switching of my closet since Fall is in the air!

4. Start my weekly scrapbooking routine. I just purchased a photo album this week for Connor-the outside cover is a leather soccer ball. I have newspaper clippings and pictures from this season which I will get in his album and that will be caught up! I wanted to archive his High School Soccer Career and since that is currently taking place, no time like the present to get that done!

Well, I think 4 goals for this week should do me! It's going to be a struggle to get these accomplished I'm sure!

Wish me luck! Encourage me! I am going to need it :-)

Have a good week! See you on Monday with my weekly Menu Planning!

Tackle It Tuesday (Sitting Routines & a Few Other Loose Ends)

Today officially starts the beginning of my school routine. I realize that school started a couple of weeks ago BUT it took me that long to get the house back in order! Yesterday while driving to Sedalia, I thought about what I wanted to get accomplished this school year and I realized that I wasn't going to get these goals accomplished without sitting a daily routine for the school year! This morning during my quiet time, I developed my daily routine:

Monday/Wednesday/Friday:

5:45-6:00 am-Wake, shower & dress

6:30 am-Quiet Time

7:15-7:30 am-Wake the girls (Boys get up around 6:15 & are on the bus by 6:40 am)

7:30-8:30 am-While the girls are getting ready for school, empty dishwasher, put a load of laundry in, make beds, check email.

8:30 am -10:00 am-Head to gym-work out.

10:15 am-10:30 am-Take quick shower & dress for the day.

10:30 am to 12:00 pm-Work (CMSL)

12:00 pm to 1:00 pm-Eat lunch/Take break.

1:00 pm-4:00 pm-Housework, CMSL (if need), start dinner plans, etc.

4:00 pm-Start evening routine (recheck calendar) Every other Wednesday, work at the Academy from 4:00 to 8:00 pm.

5:00 pm-Start Dinner

7:00 pm-TV off/Homework time with kids. Every other Wednesday, attend Community Live @ Church.

Tuesday and Thursday: On Tuesday morning, the morning routine will be the same as M/W/F. At 12:30, I will be attending the Tuesday Bible study group. We will be studying a book by Joyce Meyer call "Battlefield of the Mind." The study will continue until November 13.

On Tuesday after the study, I will be picking up the girls and taking them to dance. They have dance from 4:30 to 8:15 pm. The evening routine will be the same as my M/W/F unless Connor has a soccer game.

On Thursday mornings, I will be attending, Take 2. A bible study at my church. Not sure what I'm taking yet. Our first meeting is this Thursday. Bible study is from 9:15 am to 11:15 am. After Bible study, a group of us usually go out for lunch. I really cherish this time, it's a great time for me to reconnect with a group of women & talk!

Thursday afternoon: We usually are done by 1:00 pm. I'm planning on using this afternoon to run errands-grocery store, etc.

On Thursday's, the girls have dance from 4:30 until 7:30 pm and I work the front desk on Thursday's as well.

With my daily routines in mind, here are my evening dinner plans:

Monday-Cook.

Tuesday-Cook.

Wednesday-Quick & easy meal for Community Live night & crockpot meal for work night.

Thursday-Crockpot dinner.

Friday-Family fun night-eat out, pizza, etc.

What are we having this week?

Monday-done

Tuesday-We will be eating dinner early (around 4 pm). Connor has a game in Smithton at 7:30 pm & we will be leaving town around 5:00 pm. We are having Garlicky Spaghetti & Chicken Tenders. I'm sure that Connor will eat again after his game. The rest of the family can eat when they get home.

Wednesday-Chili Pork Chops, Steamed Veggies & Salad.

Thursday-Something in the crockpot-not sure yet.

Friday-We will be eating out, if Connor plays on Friday evening in Smithton.

Last tackle it project....tying up loose ends or things that I need to do today (or this week will work too!) still!

1. Finish entering MYSA registrations. Mail them out this evening.

2. Get dance bags ready for girls.

3. Finish cleaning girls room.

4. Finish packing up garage sale items in garage.

5. Call library to make donation of garage sale books.

6. Set up meeting to get tapes transferred to CDs.

7. Freezer Chick meals done.

8. AFA blog.

Okay...I think I'm done! What are you tackling?

Marriage Monday-Honor Post 7.16.07

My hubby and I had a very long weekend cleaning out our garage. And we actually got through the weekend without screaming and yelling at each other the entire time-I think maybe we had a few words early on but we managed to get a lot accomplished! We still have a ways to go but we managed to get a great start on the project. We will be celebrating our 16 year anniversary on July 20th and we have accumulated so much stuff over the years and we have never had a garage sale to get rid of things that we no longer use. We had a garage sale 9 years ago when we moved from a bigger home back into our first home & sold furniture that wouldn't fit back into the house. But that's all! Each time we moved, we just stuffed everything into the shed, attic and garage! So I'm thankful that we managed to get through most of this project without screaming and yelling at each other this weekend!

Goals that I'm working on to honor my husband:

Not thinking negative thoughts or saying negative things about him in front of my children-doing good. Every once in a way I catch myself getting ready to say something but instead, I pray or think about something else.

Last week started out really well & I got my quiet time in but by Tuesday after having a house full of kids (8) and staying up until 3:30 am, I didn't get my quiet time in. This week, I still have some big projects but I should be able to get my quiet time in sometime!

Hope everyone had a great week last week, I'm looking forward to getting a lot of things accomplished and goals meet! Check for my updated on July 20th-our anniversary-I will have some pictures of the last 16 years posted!

Check out Fruit in Season, for more information about this challenge.

S.M.A.R.T. Saturday Habits

How did I do this week on my S.M.A.R.T Habits Saturday goals?

Let's see...

1. Made bed-everyday, did great!
2. Swish toilet & wipe down vanity-good, missed a couple of days.
3. Workout-one day, it was hard to squeeze it in with family & the other obligations that I had this week. Plus I had late nights 3 nights in a row & I just didn't wake up early enough to get going in the morning.
4. Quiet Time-one day-same as working out.
5. Quality Time with hubby-okay, same as working out. We were so busy each evening it was hard to squeeze time together. Next week should be a little better.

New goals for this week? You bet,
6. One load of laundry each day-at least!
7. Load dishes in dishwasher everyday-will go to bed each evening with a clean kitchen.
8. Bubble bath in the evening before bed-at least every other day!

Check out other goals at The Lazy Organizer's blog for other S.M.A.R.T. Saturday participants.

Back-to-School Essentials

Yes, I know, what am I thinking! Summer is in full force and I blogging about Back-to-School! I had mentioned in another post that July 4th always marks the half-way mark for summer & I typically start thinking about school around this time. My son, CSH, gets the EC:Essential Connection (GOD+LIFE+FUN) magazine from LifeWay and there was an article titled Back-To-School Essentials by Sherrill Echols. The quote in the column really caught my attention:

"Prayer, goal setting and planning are three essentials for a successful school year. As you prepare for the upcoming year, pray for God's wisdom and guidance in all of your decisions and choices. What is important to you? What do you want to accomplish?...Do you want to be a member of the student council, honor society , or drill team? What impression or impact do you want to make on your campus?"

What a great concept....for everything in life. Housework, work, relationships, etc. Committing our goals and aspirations to the Lord daily will help us achieve anything.

"Commit your activities to the Lord and your plans will be achieved." Proverbs 16:3

What a strong directive followed by encouragement. "As Christians, we have the ultimate partner in all of our efforts. We can give the Lord our concerns about the upcoming months and challenges ahead."

I continued reading the article and thought of ways this could apply to my everyday life! What activities am I going to commit to the Lord? Everything from housekeeping to grocery shopping to relationship building with my hubby and children to activities outside of the home like dance, soccer & volunteer jobs at school.

This is going to be my theme for the next year....

Works For Me Wednesday (Prayer Journal-Praying for Family)

I have a Prayer Journal that I use each day when I have my quiet time. It's a homemade prayer journal in a 3-ring divider, it has 8 divided sections: Praise (Praise God for Who He is), Confess (Confess & Ask forgiveness) , Request (my prayer requests), Thanksgiving (express thankfulness for all of my blessings-answered prayers), Listen (what is God telling you in his word-I complete this section after reading the Bible-doing a Bible study), the next 3 sections are used for when I'm reading the Bible throughout the year, it's broken up into sections & I write something meaningful down in each of the sections-New Testament , Old Testament & Psalms/Proverbs. I go through each section each day, in the request section is my prayer request list. Each day I pray about something different, for example, on Sunday I pray for our Church Leaders, on Monday I pray for my husband, on Tuesday I pray for my children, etc. This doesn't mean that if on Friday my husband needs prayer for something I don't pray for him because it's not his day....I have my daily prayer and my special prayers. (I hope that makes sense!) In my husband and children section, I have a page for each family member, on that page, I have traced their hand & placed a picture on that page as well. When I pray for that particular family member, I place my hand on their handprint and pray for them. It makes me feel extra connected to them!

That works for me....what works for you? Check out more WFMW ideas @ Rocks In My Dryer!

Total Mom Makeover-Week One-The Starter Mom

I purchased a book by Hannah Keeley called "Total Mom Makeover:The Six-Week Plan to Completely Transform Your Home, Health, Family, and Life" a couple of months ago. I decided to spend my summer working through the book. The Introduction had me hooked:

"I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror as I walked by with a basket full of laundry fresh out of the dryer. My hair was pulled back in the same scrunchie that I had worn to bed. My face, pale & washed out, had not seen a dab of makeup since last Sunday, and the drab gray sweatshirt that I wore only accentuated the fact that I still had twenty-five pounds to lose. But who has time to shower and dress when you have a house to clean and three kids to look after? And even if I did have time, what was the point?"

WOW, could I relate! I feel that way most days with four children, volunteer activities, a part-time job, etc. etc. What was the point? However, I am worth the effort!

So, now I'm on a Total Mom journey....what is a Total Mom? Keeley describes a total mom as "a woman who is changing the face of homemaking and motherhood. Caring for her home & family is not something she does on the side. It is a priority for her, and she loves what she does. She is smart, energetic, powerful, confident, balanced, and sexy. She doesn't sit around and wait for things to happen. She makes things happen!"

Each week is broken down into a Total Mom Needs Pyramid. Each day, I will read out of the book, do some exercises in a journal, and put what I have learned into practice.

Here is a breakdown of what I can expect to accomplish each week:

Week One: The Starter Mom-tear down that faulty pyramid, acquire tools to construct a better life, learn how to develop a vision, make every motion & moment count, how to speak my way to success & develop a winning attitude.

Week Two: The Basic Mom-begin meeting basic needs & build foundation for growth. Learn how to eliminate toxins from my diet, clutter from my home & (this might change my website rating form G to something else!) boredom from my sex life. As well as develop my own inner fashionista and learn key strategies to increase my energy level! Week 2 will be exciting!

Week Three: The Secure Mom-free myself from the fear & uncertainty that tomorrow holds and establish a sense of security in my life. Plug up the leaks in my wallet and work exercise into my daily routine. And develop methods to manage my temper as well as my housekeeping responsibilities.

Week Four: The Nurtured Mom-work on love & relationship needs. Be nurtured not only through relationships with friends and family but through my relationship with myself. Make mealtime special & create a nurturing home. Develop key strategies to make my marriage work.

Week Five: The Confident Mom-will focus on meeting need for personal esteem & competence in all areas of my life. Learn to trust my inner voice & pursue my destiny. Develop muscles in my body and organization throughout my home. Learn beauty secrets that will boost my confidence as well as appearance.

Week Six: The Total Mom-Move on to living the Total Mom life. Fine-tune those attitude skills & experience life to the fullest. Love to meet your children's' basic needs as well as my own personal need for solitude. Develop techniques to help keep up with the life that I created.

Should be an exciting journey. I hope to share my journal with you on my blog & share insights to my discoveries!

Thursday Thirteen #12 (13 Ways To Honor My Husband)

I am participating in the Honor Your Husband 30-Day Challenge-so I thought it would be fitting to incorporate ways to honor him into my Thursday Thirteen and come up with 13 Ways to Honor/Show My Husband, Sean, how much I love him over the next 30 days. Our wedding anniversary is July 20th so all of this romance will lead up to a great 16 Year Anniversary!

1. Pray for him and our marriage EVERY day. Pray for him throughout the day. He travels 30 minutes each way on the Highway to and from work, pray for his safety while on the road so he can provide for his family. Pray that the Lord blesses him with wisdom, knowledge and good health each and every day.





2. Create a warm and welcoming home. By greeting him as he walks through the door with hugs and kisses. That everything is tidy and in it's place.





3. His work clothes are laundered and ready to go each and everyday.





4. Keep him healthy by buying and cooking food that is good for him & our family.





5. Maintain a budget and stay with in that budget. We are basically a one income household of six. I stay at home & work from home but our main source of income comes from Sean's job. Staying within the budget is very hard for me! Sean works really hard to provide for us & the least I can do is not add pressure to him by not staying within our means and within our budget.





6. Continue to read and educate myself on our to be a better wife and mom. There a couple of books on my book shelf (ones that I haven't read or read all the way through-this would help me with my 40-before-40 list!) that I am going to pull out and read over the next 30 days: Creative Counterpart by Linda Dillow, Woman After God's Own Heart by Elizabeth George, Love & Respect by Emerson & Sarah Eggerichs, Biblical Womanhood In The Home by Nancy Leigh DeMoss, Sheet Music by Dr. Kevin Leman, We Should Do This More Often by Lorille Craker and The Power of a Praying Wife by Stormie Omartian.





7. Keep his schedule updated. We are a very busy family of 6 with soccer, baseball, dance, etc., etc. Helping he stay up to date on all that is going by helping him with phone calls and emails.





8. Send him "love" letters and notes via email, leaving a note in the seat of his car, etc.





9. Make a regular date night with him. Our oldest is old enough to stay at home with the other kids without having to pay for a sitter. Dates nights don't need to cost much money. Things that I'm thinking of are...taking a walk after the kids get settled, having a glass of wine on the deck before bed to going out to dinner & a movie. We are so focused on our kids and their activities that we don't take a lot of time to nourish our relationship.





10. Provide wind-down time each evening for him. Give him some time to relax after a long day at work-the days he is able to! Most of the time we are rushing out the door to go to evening activities.





11. Tell him every day how much I love him. Some days are so busy that we don't have a chance to connect on an intimate level until 10 or 11:00 pm at night. Most of the time I'm beat & go to bed without telling him how much I love him. Make sure that the last words he hears from me each evening is "I Love You." Show him how much I want and need him each day. Everyone need to know that they are wanted and needed. I need to make sure that my husband know that I WANT and NEED him each and every day. Not a day should go by that I don't tell or show him that I love him.





12. Continue to keep the lines of communication open. Keep him up-to-date with what's happening with the children & their activities as well as home maintenance, finances etc.





13. Continue to plan our future together by taking time to talk about our dreams and wishes for the future.
    

Love is a verb. We don't or can't say it enough to our love ones. Love must not only be spoken but must also be shown. What ways to you honor or show your husband how much you love them? Leave me a comment!

Honor Your Husband Challenge

I'm joining Fruit In Season for her 30 Day Challenge In Honoring Your Husband.

Scripture calls us to bring honor to our husbands. Our challenge is to:

"Choose a few small goals for yourself each week and make sure to post them. Write them on post-its and put them on your mirror, in your car and your purse, or anywhere else you'll see them. Keep a journal for the month about successes and struggles. What is hardest for you to do? What comes easily? How is your husband responding to your efforts?"

This week my goals are:

• To think before I speak. Many times I will blurt out my thoughts and that either upsets him in some way or irritates him because he thinks I'm raising my voice at him.


• Get rid of any negative thoughts about my husband especially verbalizing them out loud to my children. For example, my oldest son is training for High School Soccer tryouts, he will need to run 3 miles in 21 minutes or under on the Katy Trail in the heat in August. Yesterday was the first day out on the trail. His hamstring has been bothering him & has shinsplints when he runs. My shinsplints hurt & I only walked it! His time was 26 minutes. I was on the cellphone with Sean & he says, "That just shows you that you are all out of shape!" Yes, I'm out of shape but I hung up the phone & said, "What a jerk! I would like to see how you fair after running/walking the trail!" Yes, in front of my boys! This doesn't give my children a good impression of their father so I will work on getting rid of negative thoughts and especially verbalizing them out loud!


• Greet him each day with a hello and a kiss when he arrives home from work!

My prayer is:

"God of renewal, everywhere your Holy Spirit breathes new life into creation. As I undertake this day to bring glory to you by honoring my husband, I ask you to be present in my marriage. Guide me to know in which things I should ask forgiveness, in which things I should change, and in which things I should ask for the grace to let go. Show me new ways to respect my husband today and open my eyes to all that you have made him to be. I trust in your goodness and in the covenant my husband and I made with you and each other on our wedding day. Through Jesus Christ I pray, Amen."