Sweet & Simple Moments With God Book Review

Sweet & Simple Moments with God Devotional is exactly what the title indicates.  There are devotions for each day of the year that are simple, yet give me a thought to mull over throughout my day.  I am excited to read each morning what Kim Newlen has written for that day.  The last several days have had a continuous theme of having a makeover.  Beginning with Cleansing and Hydrating and moving to Foundation, Concealers, Eyes, Cheeks, Lips, and Perfume, each thought is loosely based on those themes, but with deeper spiritual and biblical ideas. 

This is the perfect book for busy women who want something quick to pick up in the morning and carry the ideas with them throughout the day.  It isn't a substitute for deep Bible study, of course, but it gives me just enough in the morning until I have time later in the day to sit down and really dig in.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.  I am not obligated to give it a positive review.  However, I think this book is a good one for a sweet and simple devotional.

Third Grade Blues

I hear so many parents that say they can't wait for school to start.  While I crave the routine, I enjoy the more relaxed schedule that summer provides.  I love spending quality time with my kiddos and I hate to see summer come to an end.  Several weeks before school starts we get all of their supplies together, try on uniforms, and talk about what to expect in the new year.  I think the best part of school starting back is school supply shopping.  I have always loved the smell of a new box of crayons.  Bouquets of freshly sharpened pencils, post-it notes, markers, spiral bound notebooks...Love, love, love school supply shopping!  However, loving school supplies doesn't cure the "My kids are going back to school blues."

Yesterday was the first day of school.  It was a total success!  Everyone woke up on time and we were feeling pretty great about things.  Supplies had been labeled and backpacks sat ready to go for the last two weeks.  Princess didn't even fight me as she drank down her instant breakfast.  (She isn't a breakfast person at all.)  We took the obligatory first day of school pictures until my sweet Princess and Prince were begging for no more pics.  "Let's just get on with it!"  "Can we please go to school now?!" 

 

 

 

As we left the neighborhood Princess asked if she could pray for all of us.  As we drove to school, we all took turns praying for the first day of school and for the days that follow.  When we were almost there, Prince, who normally doesn't get nervous, said, "Mommy, my tummy feels funny."  Oh my sweet Prince, all will be OK when you get into your classroom and put your things away.  By the time school gets started you will feel more relaxed and things are gonna be great. 

This year, the twins are in third grade and their classroom is upstairs.  As we climbed the stairs and began walking down the hall, Princess started saying, "Mommy, I don't want you to leave me.  Please don't leave me."  Everything is going to be great.  You're going to have a great day and I can't wait to hear all about it when you get home.  Here, let me take your picture in front of this third grade bulletin board. 

We walk into their classroom and are greeted by their teacher.  I'm really excited about their teacher this year.  I have gotten to know her a little the last few years of being at the school and I like her a lot.  Prince and Princess find their desks and begin putting their things away as I am the dorky mom taking pictures the whole time.

 

 

 

Then it happened.  I heard a child ask the teacher if he can go to the restroom.  She asks if he knows where it is, down the hall and across from the elevator.  It suddenly hits me how fast my kids are growing up.  This is big stuff.  They are in third grade and I can still remember when they were down at the preschool with me.  My eyes begin to puddle and my voice gets shaky.  I start to tell Prince and Princess bye and Prince says, "Mom, are you crying?"  Nope.  Not me, I say with a smile plastered on my face.  Hold it together Rach.  You can do this.  Just give them kisses and be on your way.  I go to give kisses and I lose it.  Total fail.  I'm the mom, the only mom, crying as she leaves her third graders in their classroom.  I cried the whole way to work, talking to Hubby on the phone as he was trying to reassure me that I didn't totally embarrass myself or our kids.  If it's this hard to let them go to third grade, I don't even want to think about college!

Everyone had a great first day.  They were excited to tell Hubby and I all about their friends and all of the new and wonderful things about third grade.  It's gonna be a great year and I took everyone to school this morning without incident.  We're settling in to a new routine and looking for to all the wonderful adventures that are ahead this year.

Confessions of a People Pleaser

This week is our church's Vacation Bible School.  I have been working and preparing for months for this very special week.  It's always an exciting time.  It's also a lot of pressure.  I want so badly for things to work as planned.  I want for the children and the volunteers to have a fun and meaningful experience.  Oh, and by the way, I want for people to think that I have done a good job with the planning and execution of it. 

Yesterday morning I was wide awake a little before 4:00.  No matter what I tried, I couldn't get back to sleep.  So I got up and headed down the hall with my kindle.  As I began to quiet my mind and my heart I read the daily word from Jesus Calling.  The first sentence hit me right in the face and penetrated my heart:  Find freedom through seeking to please Me above all else.  It went on to say that when we allow the expectations of others to drive our efforts our energy is "scattered to the winds." 

I am a people pleaser.  I want for everyone to be happy and when people aren't happy, my nature is to lose sleep worrying over how I can fix it.  I have learned though, that I cannot and will not make everyone happy all of the time.  All I can do is the very best I can do, but the most important thing I can do is to honor and please God.  Yesterday morning after my quiet time I got to work making those last minute lists and busying myself to try to cover all of the bases.  When I would feel the "what-ifs" clouding my thoughts and my mood I heard God say to me "Abide in Me."  Could it really be that simple?  Abide in Me.  If I abide in Him, in His love, in His promises, in His truth I have His peace.  Simple?  Yes!  Easy?  No!  But it gave me some perspective and reminded me why I do what I do.  Staying connected to Christ is critical.  It also reminded me of the source of my strength and of my very being. 

I hope that children, volunteers, parents, everyone has a great time this week and that they come away from VBS having had a wonderful experience.  However, the true measure of the success of the week is whether or not God was glorified through our time together and if His kingdom was furthered because of it. 

The first two days of VBS this week have been fun and fruitful.  There were things that happened out of my control that weren't perfect, but they were handled.  At the end of the day, I think the bigger success was that in the midst of the imperfections I found peace and was able to calmly solve the problems. 

The Thing About Sisters

This morning I am thinking about how thankful I am that God gave me a sister.  My sister and I are 20 months apart and although we are very different people, we are extremely close.  The thing about having a sister is that you always have someone there to cheer you on, to root for you. 

Growing up we would fight like crazy, but God help anyone who would mess with one of us because we'd immediately team up against them.  I may or may not have vacuumed over her hair.  In my defense, she was laying on the floor trying to get me in trouble when my dad told me to vacuum our room. 

As teenagers I woke up excited for the day and talking about what would happen at school that day and she would grump that I talked too much.  She isn't exactly an early morning person.  However, get her giggling late at night and she can't stop. 

To this day, she is the one person I like to scheme with.  She's been my Black Friday stay up all night and shop buddy since we were old enough to make our own money and drive and even now she goes with Hubby and I to search out the good deals.  It's much more about the bonding and the experience than it is about the shopping.  She may or may not have accidentally cut a chunk out of my hair recently (paybacks?).  We laughed till we cried and our kids wondered what in the world was wrong with us.  This is nothing new though.  Did I mention that she is the aunt who swoops in to save my kids when they are in trouble with me?  She treats my kids like they were her own and I am so glad they have her for an aunt. 

For the past several months my sister has suffered from debilitating back pain.  She is undergoing surgery this afternoon and I am praying that this will fix the problem.  It has been difficult for her to not be her usual active self with her love of exercise and chasing her 3 boys around.  Today I am praying for steady hands for her doctor and complete healing of her body.  I know that she is going to feel so much better coming out of this and I am looking forward to many more adventures to come.

Long Time No Blog

It's been so long since I have written and posted.  I have started many entries, mostly to sort through my thoughts and feelings.  However, it has been way too long since I have written anything that is worth publishing.  Where does the time go?

We just finished celebrating the twins' 9th birthday.  I can't believe my sweet Prince and Princess are 9 years old!!  If you have read my blog much, you know this is a difficult time for me. I want to celebrate the blessings God has given with two healthy children, but I also struggle with remembering the circumstances of their birth and all we went through to get to this point.  This year was no different.  Hubby and I both struggled as we thought about the life and death stuff we have come through. 

You can read about their birth story Here and the follow up Here. 

We've come a long way, Baby!

 

Earlier this week I was talking to a friend who has had a difficult time lately with some health issues he has been facing.  He said that he has been struggling and asking God why and then he feels guilty because of the long life and the blessings God has already given Him.  This resonated with me because I have felt the same way.  I know I should be thankful for what I have.  I know that God has worked things out for His good and His greater purpose.  I know that I must sound like the spoiled little kid who wants things her way and wants them to come without a price.  I still struggle, but I would like to think that as I wrestle with the questions, I am growing through it.  God is big enough to handle my questions and I may never understand why, but when I ask those questions I like to think that God is drawing me closer to Him and asking me to just trust Him.   

 



I look forward to the day that July 14th comes and I am fully in the present and the promise that the future holds, not dwelling on hurts from the past.  However, it is from the past that I have learned what it truly means to trust in God's perfect plan. 

These miracles are truly a gift from God and they teach me so much about my relationship with God and who I want to be when I grow up

Prayer Warrior Mom Book Review

 



I am so glad I requested a review copy of Prayer Warrior Mom.  God has entrusted parents with a huge responsibility and He has also given us an amazing gift.  We want to be the parents God has called us to be, but we don't always know how to intercede for our precious children. In her book, Marla Alupoaicei gives wonderful insight into exactly how we should pray.  It includes scriptural references that tell the how and why. 
This book includes fifteen chapters with titles such as:
Pray Scripture, Stand in the Gap, Pray with Power and Authority, Fast for Spiritual Breakthrough, Hold Your Children Loosely...

At the conclusion of each chapter is Today's Prayer followed by a page called Sword of the Spirit with more scripture relating to the chapter.  Also, there are small group discussion questions to follow each chapter.  This book could be done in a group of moms who come together to support and discuss or it could be done alone as you prayer and seek discernment in your own prayer life for your kids.  I think it would be neat to go through this book and keep a journal of ways the Holy Spirit touches your heart through this book and then to journal the prayers you pray for your children after having read it. 

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.  I am not obligated to give it a positive review.  However, I think this book is a fabulous resource and plan to keep it at arm's reach so I can refer back to it.

In Broken Places Book Review

Shelby’s life isn’t glamorous, but it is predictable—and that’s the way she likes it. A survivor of her father’s violence, she has spent a lifetime creating a safe existence devoid of dependence. But her carefully managed world begins to break when, under staggering circumstances, she becomes a single mother to four-year-old Shayla. In a drastic attempt to escape her childhood’s influence, Shelby moves to Germany, but she quickly discovers how intimately linked memory and healing are—and how honestly she must scrutinize her past in order to aspire to a richer future. As she juggles a new job, a new culture, a new daughter, and the attention of an enterprising man, Shelby’s fresh start becomes a quest for the courage to be not only a survivor, but someone who prevails.

I really wanted to like this book.  I enjoyed the character development and thought the plot was a good one.  I found it difficult to read because the story kept jumping in time from present day to a few months earlier to flashbacks from Shelby's own childhood.  I just found it disjointed and a bit difficult to stay with. 

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.