What We’ve Been Up To- Moving

A Big Decision

If you follow me online, you have probably noticed I have been absent online since Christmas. Let me catch you up on what we’ve been doing. We started out the year with a bang! In January, we decided it was time for us to make a move. We took a really heavy pay cut last year in the middle of the year. After several months of scrambling, cutting back, picking up extra hours, and more, we decided we needed to bring down our mortgage payments. Our goal was to cut our mortgage in half. So with that in mind, the second week of January we decided to begin the process of selling our home and moving.

We made a call to a realtor friend of ours, and we were off. Our house needed a ton of work, so we got to work. We painted everything in sight. I told Matt if the kids stood still too long, they would get painted. We redid a bathroom, ripped out carpet, put in new carpet, redecorated and staged the house, cleaned out our basement, and packed up most of the house. It was a crazy six weeks. We headed into open house weekend with lots of prayers and our fingers crossed.

Selling Our Home, Moving, and a Wedding

After a Saturday and Sunday open house with around sixty people showing up, we came away with multiple offers and a bidding war. We officially accepted a bid on Monday night after the open houses. Then all the craziness started with looking for a new house, inspections, appraisals, paperwork, and all that messy stuff. We pushed through all of that and began the moving process. We moved into our new home the second week of April. After just a few days of settling in, we hit the road to head to Illinois for my younger sister’s wedding. We got to spend lots of time with family and friends, laughing, having fun together, and helping to decorate for the wedding.

Here’s a few pictures from the wedding…

wedding picture of bride and groom — My beautiful little sister marrying her best friend.

four kids in wedding outfits — Our four kids all ready for the wedding.

two sisters dressed for a wedding — My older sister and I getting ready for the wedding.

Back to Normal Life

After that, we started the trip home and stopped in Pittsburgh for a few days for some much-needed downtime to relax and have some fun together. Now we are back home, finishing the year homeschooling, and looking forward to summer break!

family photo — Enjoying our time in Pittsburgh.

Christmas Family Series- #2

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Do you ever feel like the holidays fly by without fitting any meaningful family time in? I have in my mind all the things I want to do as a family for the holiday season, but all of a sudden January hits and we didn’t get to any of it.

A few years ago, Matt and I talked and decided to do something about it. We decided to be more intentional about the holidays. I knew if we were going to fit more into our schedule, I had to find ideas that were simple and easy. I started trying to find ways to incorporate more quality family time in during the holiday season. We have several things now that we do as a family each year that I want to share over the next few weeks. Here we go!

Idea #2: Looking at Lights

This idea is super easy. Load all the kids into the car, turn on the Christmas music, and drive around looking at Christmas lights. We try to do this several times during the Christmas season. Sometimes we drive through McDonald’s and get hot chocolate for everybody.

It doesn’t sound spectacular, but it’s so much fun for the kids, especially when they are not expecting it. We love to surprise them. Sometimes we wait until the kids are in pajamas and ready for bed; then we tell everyone to grab a coat and put on their shoes. Chaos ensues. Everybody runs around grabbing coats and shoes. We all pile into the van and take off. We don’t stay out long- maybe about twenty minutes or so. It’s just long enough to spend some meaningful time together as a family.

Creating family time in the midst of a busy season doesn’t have to take a lot of time or money. It just takes a little creativity and planning to sneak it into a busy schedule. We won’t ever regret the effort it takes to spend more time with our family. Our kids won’t be with us forever, so we have to create the memories while we can!

Family Christmas Series: #1 Reading Basket

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Idea #1: Christmas Reading Basket

Create a Christmas reading basket. I got this idea two years from Sarah Mackenzie and her podcast, “The Read-Aloud Revival.” I love this idea! We created a book basket for the month of December. I like it so much, we might continue it into next year.

Our Christmas book basket

Place a large basket somewhere visible and fill it with Christmas books. I went to my library and checked out all the best Christmas and winter books I could find! Lots of our books are by Jan Brett. We just love her books, and she has several winter and Christmas books! Whenever it’s time to read, I choose one child to go pick out a book from the basket and we get to read it together as a family.

Some of our favorites from our last library run

Finding Extra Time to Read

We try to find extra time each day to read. We might read the book before bedtime, after dinner at the table, in the morning after breakfast, in the car as we travel somewhere, or at some other random time. I love the time we spend reading a good book together as a family. Sometimes the kids sit and color and listen as I read. Other times, they just sit and look at the pictures.

We have enjoyed so many great Christmas books together as a family! It’s an easy way to fit in extra family time. Everybody enjoys it and it only takes a few minutes to pull off and absolutely no prep time! That’s a win in my book.

Choosing to Spend Time Doing What Matters Most

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Our kids playing in the leaves

Beautiful Fall Days

It’s fall! That means beautiful days, trees bursting with color, pumpkin lattes, apple picking at the orchard, apple cider donuts, and all the wonderful things fall brings.

Last week, we were crazy busy. I had more to accomplish on my to-do list each day than I could possibly accomplish. But as I looked out the window, I saw it was an incredibly gorgeous fall day. The sun hadn’t been out in days, but now it was shining and the trees were full of color.

I looked at my phone and saw that we weren’t going to have another sunny day for over a week. I started wondering if we should cancel our plans for the day and go outdoors and enjoy the great fall day God created.

Wisdom from My Morning Time

I was undecided until I had my morning time. I read in Ecclesiastes a few verses that encouraged my heart.

And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour, it is the gift of God. Ecclesiastes 3:13

Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of thy vanity, which he hath given thee under the sun, all the days of thy vanity: for that is thy portion in this life, and in thy labour which thou takest under the sun. Ecclesisastes 9:9

For all this I considered in my heart even to declare all this, that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God:… Ecclesiastes 9:1

3 Lessons from Solomon

1. The gift of God is working hard and enjoying the fruits of our labor. What’s the point in working hard every day if you never take a day off? What’s the point of earning money if we can’t spend it doing something together as a family?

2. My spouse and children are gifts from God to be enjoyed in this life. I have to choose to spend time with them while I still can. We are not promised tomorrow, and our children won’t be with us forever. In the blink of an eye, they will be out of our home and on their own. We have to make conscious decisions to spend time putting into them, noticing them, and having fun with them while we can.

3. Our lives are in God’s hand. Our jobs, our pay, our careers, everything we work so hard for is in God’s hand. Taking a day off isn’t going to change that.

Choosing to Spend Time Doing What Really Matters

So, what did we do? We packed the kids in the van and drove an hour and a half away to beautiful Lancaster, PA. We went to our favorite orchard and bought pink lady apples, we discovered a new park surrounded by the most gorgeous fall trees, and we found some leaves to play in. But mostly, we simply enjoyed spending time together as a family.

Sometimes we need to step away from work, take a break from the never-ending to-do list, and just choose to spend time together. We will never regret the time we spend together as a family!

God Uses Trials to Develop Iron in our Souls

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photo credit: Kalen Emsley

Deserts and Prisons

We can’t always make sense of what God is doing in our lives. Sometimes, though, we can begin to see a pattern in the way God deals with people. In the Bible, God sent people to prisons and deserts. Joseph, John the Baptist, Jeremiah, and Paul all went to prison and Moses, Elijah, and David spent time in the desert. A desert and a prison have the same effect– you are cut off from everything you know, the comforts you are used to, and thrown into an entirely new set of circumstances, totally dependent on God.

It’s in the prisons and deserts of life that we learn an entirely new way of depending on God. It’s the place where God begins to show us more of Himself. It was in the desert that God called Moses from the burning bush to return to Egypt and free the Israelites. God revealed the next stage of Elijah’s ministry to him during his time in the desert. When Jeremiah was imprisoned, God spoke to him and gave him the amazing words we comfort ourselves with still today.

Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not. Jeremiah 33:3

Job’s Story

We see another example of this in the book of Job. While Job’s story doesn’t take him to a literal prison, his circumstances were similar. God took away everything from Job and left him destitute. Job gets to know God in an entirely new way. Job no longer knew about God, he knew God personally. At the end of his trial, Job had this to say.

I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. Job 42:5

Captivity

There’s an interesting verse at the end of the book of Job that captured my attention recently.

And the LORD turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before. Job 42:10

I think it is so interesting that God calls Job’s testing captivity. It gives us a glimpse into the way God deals with us in trials and testings. The word captivity we can understand. It’s the idea of being a prisoner. God allowed Job to be a prisoner during his time of testing. The time of testing came to an end, and God restored Job’s wealth to him and gave him more children.

What brought about the end of Job’s testing? What happened to Job that God said, “Ok, that’s enough. You passed the test.”?

Iron in Our Soul

I’m not completely sure but I think David may give us a glimpse of it in the Psalms. There’s a really interesting verse in Psalm 105 that talks about Joseph’s time of testing.

He sent a man before them, even Joseph, who was sold for a servant:

Whose feet they hurt with fetters: he was laid in iron:

Until the time that his word came: the word of the LORD tried him. Psalm 105:17-19

The phrase he was laid in iron literally means “his soul came into iron.” He developed iron in his soul. Joseph was not the same person when God finished testing him. What does it mean to have iron in your soul? It carries the idea of spiritual “toughening up.” God knows that we can’t stay the way we are and hope to serve Him faithfully for a lifetime. Life is just too hard. So He sends us into captivity, times of testing to toughen us up, so we will stay faithful in the long run.

Times of Iron Strengthening

I know in my life personally, Matt and I are not the same people we were when we started our church seven years ago. God has used these years of testing to toughen us up, not to have a hard heart but a tough skin. Matt often says that we need to keep a tender heart but grow a thick skin. The ministry is tough. People can be cruel. God does things we don’t understand. If we want to get through all that, we have to keep a tender heart to the Lord but toughen up a little bit. We can’t let hurtful comments, bad days, and heartbreak keep us from what we know the Lord called us to do.

I don’t know what you are going through, but I know that God allows times in our lives when we are held captive and tested beyond what we think we can manage so that He can put iron in our souls.

A Heart of Iron

Two dear friends of mine are in such a time right now. They both have cancer and are clinging to God during this time. They are totally dependent on God as their worlds have come crashing down. As I pray for them and hurt for them, I am watching the iron process taking place. Somehow they are stronger than they were when they started; they have more faith and grace than what they started with. I am watching as God takes them through this process and is refining them and changing them.

I wonder if that’s what Pharoah saw in Joseph when Joseph stood before him in the palace. He saw a man fresh from prison, but he saw in this young man a heart of iron.

My challenge to you and to myself is to not give up and throw in the towel. God is at work refining us. It’s in this refining process that we get to know Him in an entirely new way. It’s in these difficult times of testing that God is developing iron in our soul so that we can stay faithful for a lifetime.

Fall Mornings Make the Best Mornings

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Fall Mornings and Candles

Fall is here, and that means two of my favorite things- fall mornings and fall candles. I love getting up early on a cool fall morning, and I love fall candles! My favorite scents in my home right now are pumpkin cupcake, pumpkin apple, vanilla pumpkin marshmallow, pumpkin patch, spiced pecan, and caramel corn.

Morning Time Routine

Fall is the best time to incorporate a morning time routine. The kids are back in school, schedules are more structured, and the mornings are beautiful. There is nothing more perfect than a fall morning with a cup of coffee in hand, a candle burning, and a quiet time to pray, read the Bible, and journal.

If you have been wanting to start a morning time routine, this is a great time to get started. Each year, I use September and October to reboot my morning time routine. Usually, during the summer, I get a little sloppy with my routine. By the time fall comes, I am ready to get back at it. If you want to get back in the swing of things, follow these quick steps and you can be ready to get back to that morning time routine.

Quick Reboot

1. Buy a candle. Bath and Body Works and Kirklands are my favorite places to buy candles. Pick one that you love and brings a smile to your face.

2. Find a journal. I use my journal to write down my prayer list for the day and what I read and learned during my Bible reading time. I find I learn so much more when I use a journal than when I just read my Bible.

3. Pick a Bible study or reading plan. There are so many Bible reading plans to choose from. A quick way to get started is to read a Psalm or a Proverb a day, read one chapter of John each day, or choose a Bible study from the YouVersion app.

4. Pick a book to read. I try to read a chapter from a book each day when I am done with my Bible reading and journaling. Here are a few good reads if you are looking for one.

Everybody Always by Bob Goff.

Falling Free: Rescued From the Life I Always Wanted by Shannan Martin.

Nothing to Prove: Why We Can Stop Trying So Hard by Jennie Allen.

You Are Free: Be Who You Already Are by Rebekah Lyons

Kisses from Katie by Katie Davis

5. Just start. The best way to get into a morning time routine is to just start doing it and continue each day. You will find an excuse every day, but choose to overcome those excuses and stick to your morning time routine each day.

If you are looking for more details on developing a morning time routine, read my post My Best Tips for an Effective Morning Time. With just a little bit of work, mornings can be the best part of our day!

Stepping into the Water and Waiting for a Miracle

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photo credit: Anastasia Taioglou

The Crossing of the Jordan River

Joshua chapter 3 tells the story of the crossing of the Jordan River. God came to Joshua and told him to prepare the people to cross the Jordan River. At this time of year, the Jordan River was at it its highest, overflowing its banks. God gave instructions to Joshua to tell the priests to step into the river. Once their feet stepped into the Jordan, the waters would part, and the Israelites could walk across on dry land. The priests had to stand in the water until everyone had passed over.

And as they that bare the ark were come unto Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the brim of the water, (for Jordan overfloweth all his banks all the time of harvest,)

And the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground, until all the people were passed clean over Jordan. (Joshua 3:15,17)

Standing Firm and Holding Our Ground

Rebekah Lyons author of You Are Free writes these words about the account from Joshua 3.

They stepped out in faith. (the priests)

They waited.

God moved.

They stood their ground until everyone was safe.

On that day there was partnership between God and man. God asked Joshua and the priests to step in, to stand firm, to hold their ground. God held back the waters as they remained steadfast.

I stopped and thought about those statements. This miracle only happened because the priests did their part. What would have happened if the priests decided it wasn’t worth the risk? Or what if they had grown tired of standing in the Jordan and decided to step out of the water before all the children of Israel got across? Scholars don’t know for certain how long it would have taken for everyone to get across, but some estimate it could have taken as long as 29 days!

Did the priests take turns standing in the water? I’m not sure how it all worked out, but I do know it was a supernatural act of God that could only be accomplished by the complete obedience of His people.

Standing Firm and Holding Our Ground

Rebekah poses this question next.

Are there places where God asks us to stand firm and hold our ground?

I read that question and stopped. I read it once more and had to stop and think about it. Then I began to unpack it.

Sometimes God asks us to step into the overflowing waters. It doesn’t make sense. We step in and it’s wet and dirty and mucky. Not only are we supposed to step in, but we are supposed to stay there and hold our ground.

Most of us can handle stepping into the water, but staying there? No thank you. I think the craziest thought in all is that the priests had to step in and stay there for everybody else.

Even if we manage to step into overflowing waters and stay there, I think the last part does us in. We are supposed to do it for others, not for ourselves. God asked the priests to hold their ground for everybody else.

Standing in the Waters

Has God asked you to step into the water and hold your ground for somebody else?

Sometimes God chooses people to stand and hold their ground for those who aren’t strong enough to do it themselves. Maybe that’s you. Maybe it’s me. Will we choose to step out in faith and wait for God to move? We can’t give in and throw in the towel because we get weary or frustrated. We are holding our ground waiting for God to work a miracle in our lives and in the lives of those around us. If we give up now, we will miss when God comes through and does the impossible. If you want to quit and need some encouragement, read my post When You Feel Like Quitting.

So today, remember the miracle of the crossing of the Jordan River.

They stepped out in faith.

They waited.

God moved.

Now, fill in your name.

___________________ stepped out in faith.

She waited.

God moved.

Feeling Frustrated? 5 Steps to Combating Frustration

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photo credit: FuYong Hua

Feeling Frustrated

Sometimes we don’t want to stick with what God has called us to do. We grow tired, discouraged, frustrated, and feel like it’s not worth the hard work. For all of us, it’s something different.

Sometimes the frustrations of motherhood take all our energy and leaves us empty. Sometimes it’s ministry that depletes us. We feel like we don’t have anything left to give. There’s little progress to see, and we don’t feel like we are making a difference. Maybe it’s our job. We feel like we are giving everything we have, but it’s just not enough.

Feeling Weary

I felt this way recently. I felt tired. Maybe that’s not the right word. Weary. Do you ever grow weary in life? Weary of trying to make the right decisions, of trying to make everybody happy, of needing to try harder and do more? And yet the harder you try, the worse it seems to get?

A few days ago in my morning time, God encouraged me with this verse.

Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not; II Corinthians 4:1

God used this verse to remind me that whatever God has given us to do, He will give us the grace to accomplish it. A few verses later, God tells us how we can do our ministry without fainting or quitting.

For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. II Corinthians 4:16

Though we feel like we are falling apart on the outside, we can strengthen ourselves internally. Frustration doesn’t have to control us. How can we strengthen our “inward man,” our heart?

5 Steps to Combating Frustration

Spend time each morning reading, journaling, and praying. This is the most important step. God can strengthen our hearts and encourage us when we spend time with Him. If you need inspiration to get started with a morning time, read my post on tips for an effective morning time.
Listen to encouraging and uplifting Christian music. Just as music soothed the spirit of Saul in the Bible, music can soothe our spirit. When I am really irritated and can’t seem to settle, I turn on the Laura Story station on Pandora or the K-Love app on my phone. Rather than staying frustrated, Christian music helps calm us and turn our focus back to God.
Take a nap or go to bed early. Sometimes we just need sleep. It’s amazing how good a nap or a few extra hours of sleep can help us regain perspective and composure.
Spend time with friends or family. Find somebody that is uplifting and encouraging to spend time with. Go grab coffee with a friend, have a game night with a group of friends, have your extended family over for a meal, host a dessert night with friends from church. Do something that pulls you out of your thoughts and head and helps you focus on others.
Get out of your environment. Take a vacation or a day off and drive someplace away from where you live. Often when Matt and I are frustrated, we will use our day off to drive out to Lancaster, PA. It’s about an hour and a half from where we live. Just getting away from the city and out into the country brings us peace. Sometimes we just need to get away from our problems physically to be able to handle them emotionally.

The faster we move our focus off of ourselves and back to God and others, the faster our frustration will fade.

Books I’m Reading Right Now

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My Favorite Pastime

I love reading! It’s my favorite pastime. I read pretty widely and read several different books at the same time. I am always scouring other sights looking for book recommendations, so I like to share good books I’m reading with others in return.

I’ve read a lot of books this year so far. Here is a peek into what I am reading this week.

Book Recommendations

I Second that Emotion by Patsy Clairmont. I love Patsy Clairmont. She is funny, witty, and always an encouragement. This book is no exception. It randomly covers several different topics and emotions. It’s a fast and fun read.
You are Free by Rebekah Lyons. I am just a few chapters into this book but really enjoying it. I think it’s similar to Nothing to Prove by Jennie Allen. Rebekah writes about her struggles with depression, panic attacks, and anxiety. I love reading people’s stories, so I love that she is so open and honest about her life and struggles.
The Traitor’s Game by Jennifer Nielsen. Jennifer Nielsen is one of my favorite authors. I have read almost all of her books. Her Ascendance Trilogy is one of my favorite series of books! Matt got me her newest book, The Traitor’s Game for my birthday. I am almost halfway through it and loving it. Kestra, the main character, is kidnapped by rebels and blackmailed into helping them. It’s fast-paced and exciting. I can’t wait to finish it.
The Valiant by Lesley Livingston. I just finished this book and loved it. It’s historical fiction, set in the time of Julius Ceasar. The story is about a female gladiator who fights for Julius Ceasar, her enemy. Cleopatra also appears in the book a few times. Fallon, a gladiatrix (female gladiator) must fight for survival and for her freedom. She knows if she can capture the hearts of the people, she can buy her way to freedom. But lots of people don’t want that to happen. It’s a thrilling read and a great finish.

If you are looking for more book suggestions, check out the summer reading list I made. Happy reading!

Stopping the Pity Party

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A Pity Party

Recently, I had a party. It was a party that no one else was invited to. It wasn’t fun, and it wasn’t pretty. There were no decorations and no cake. It was a good old-fashioned pity party. Ever had one of those?

Often, it seems to surprise us. We seem to be doing okay handling life’s problems and frustrations, and then bam! We start thinking about the unfairness of a situation, how our feelings got hurt, or how things aren’t working out. Before we realize it, we’re in the midst of a full-blown pity party.

The Danger of Self-Pity

Self-pity is a dangerous tool that Satan uses over and over again to bring us to our knees and make us ineffective. Patsy Clairmont, in her book I Second that Emotion, says

Pity is not pretty. Pity is emotional quicksand. I can think of no other feeling that will take you down as quickly. (Patsy Clairmont)

Once we reach the stage of a full-blown pity party, we might as well throw in the towel. We’re done. Self-pity keeps us from stepping into what God has for us, and it keeps us from focusing on those around us. When our problems become too big to us, God becomes small to us. When that happens, Satan has us right where he wants us.

David’s Problems

If anyone deserved to have a pity party, it was David. He was anointed by Samuel to be the next king of Israel, putting him in the bullseye of the current king, Saul. Saul threatens David’s life, and now David is on the run.

If I were in this situation, I would be swallowed up in self-pity, I’m sure. I would complain to God. Why me? Where are you, God? What is going to happen to me? Why can’t you just wipe out Saul?

David does have times where he questions God and pours out his frustration to Him. In Psalm 56, we find evidence of this.

Be merciful unto me, O God: for man would swallow me up; he fighting daily oppresseth me. 1

Mine enemies would daily swallow me up: for they be many that fight against me, O thou most High. 2

Every day they wrest my words: all their thoughts are against me for evil. 5

They gather themselves together, they hide themselves, they mark my steps, when they wait for my soul. 6

Shall they escape by iniquity? in thine anger cast down the people, O God. 7

David’s Turns his Focus Back to God

Yet David turns quickly from his negative thoughts and focuses his attention back on God.

When I cry unto thee, then shall mine enemies turn back: this I know; for God is for me. (vs. 9)

David understood the power of crying out to God for deliverance and trusted that God would deliver him. I love his boldness. He says, this I know. My favorite part of this verse is the next five words that come out of David’s mouth. …for God is for me.

David had such absolute confidence that God was for him. He doesn’t tiptoe around this truth, hoping and praying that God was for him. He boldly stakes his claim that he knew God Himself was in his corner.

Victory from Self-Pity

The best way to get out of a pit of self-pity is to remember, as David did, that God is for us. We are not a victim of our circumstances; we are children of God. He has perfectly created us and designed us to handle the lives He has given us. So it’s time to take a deep breath, surrender our feelings and frustrations to God, and step forward into what He has for us. God’s got this. He’s for us, and if He is for us, who can be against us?

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