Book Review - After All

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Susan Marlowe lost her husband and four other firefighters when the homeless shelter she started burned to the ground eighteen months ago. And she's finally beginning to heal. That is until she learns a secret David took with him to the grave. For the sake of their sons, can Susan forgive the unforgivable?

Peter Brennan carries the weight of the world on his shoulders. As Hanover Falls' fire chief, he was responsible for the brave firefighters who lost their lives that awful November night. Can he ever shake the feeling that he should have somehow prevented the tragedy? As he tries to rebuild the team at Clemens County's Station 2, it seems he might find comfort in the arms of the woman he least expected.

Touching, romantic and suspenseful, After All has it all. A love triangle, a mysterious chain of events, and real characters only Deborah Raney can bring to life.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Deborah Raney is the award- winning author of numerous novels, including A Nest of Sparrows and the RITA award-winning Beneath a Southern Sky and its sequel, After the Rains. Deborah's first novel, A Vow to Cherish, was the inspiration for World Wide Picture's highly acclaimed film of the same title, which in December 2004 aired on prime time network TV for the second time. Deb's novella, Playing by Heart, was a National Readers Choice Award winner and a 2004 Christy Award finalist. Her novel with Howard/Simon & Schuster, Yesterday's Embers, appeared on the ECPA Christian fiction bestseller list. Known for her sensitive portrayal of family struggles and relationships, Deb has also written nonfiction books and articles and often speaks at women's retreats and writers' conferences around the country. She and her husband, illustrator/author Ken Raney, have four children and make their home in Kansas. Learn more at www.deborahraney.com

MY REVIEW:

I enjoyed this book so much! It was another one of those that I couldn't put down! The story is about Susan who was widowed about a year earlier and she is still dealing with the pain of her loss when she is informed that her husband was having an affair. This sends her reeling. On top of this, she is running a homeless shelter and there have been some things that have happened that have turned the community against the shelter. Add in some other things that happen that are stressful, and you wonder how she's able to cope. It helps that she rekindles her friendship with Pete, the firechief and her husbands former boss. You're not real sure about Pete at first, which adds to the story. 

I really, really enjoyed this book and am going to read the other books before this in the trilogy. The writing was wonderful and I felt like I really knew the characters in the book. I also felt like I was saying goodbye to good friends as I finished the last page. I highly recommend this book - you'll truly enjoy it!

God bless you - Julie

Some personal updates

It's been quite a while since I wrote a personal update of what's happening with me. I thought it was about time!

My pain has gotten quite a bit better over the last 6 weeks. I had an epidural shot that really did help me but, in reality, it's really the hand of God. He has had such mercy on me and taken away the really intense pain that I was experiencing. He is SO good. I still have pain, I still have to be careful, but I'm seeing so much improvement. Thank you, Jesus!!

Recently, I was able to do something I thought I would never be able to do again - sleep in a bed! I thought I would be sleeping in a recliner for the rest of my life and I had accepted that, but I have been able to sleep for a little while in my bed each night. What pure joy to actually lie down and sleep! I still have to sleep in my recliner, but to be able to actually lie down, is just a miracle!

On the crafting front, I have started painting again. I don't paint like I used to - every day - but I do go out to my studio when I can and I paint. I have also been doing a lot of counted cross stitch and am almost done with an intricate project I've been working on for awhile. I've also been crocheting and am almost done with a really cute kitchen dishcloth that has a flower in the center. It's really adorable. I'll share pictures of all these things as I complete them.

My oldest son has helped me re-arrange my bedroom and I just love it! We are also going to re-arrange the living room and create a more peaceful, beach-type theme. We recently gave some couches to friends who had a housefire and so we now have more room to change things around and I'm really happy to have more room. I am having to force myself not to do too much as I'm feeling better. One thing I don't want is a relapse!! How lovely, though, to see my home getting the cleaning and re-arranging it's needed after so long.

My husband is still very tired. The radiation seems to sap the energy out of a person. I remember when I had mine, I was so tired. He's doing better, though, and most of the side effects have passed. He just needs to rest and let his body heal. We are praying that the cancer is gone and that God used these treatments to heal him.

I want to thank you all for your many prayers for me! Please keep praying - it works! I am so thankful for so many of you that have stayed on this journey of pain with me and didn't get tired of hearing about it. lol It does get old, but so many of you wrote such encouragement to me and it really did help me and make this difficult journey less difficult. The body of Christ is really a beautiful thing!

God bless you - Julie

Counting Our Blessings

I hope you all had a great Memorial Day Weekend. We had a lovely weekend. We didn't do a lot, but I did manage to make a dinner of traditional picnic foods for the occassion. :) Now on to the blessings...

31.  Our roses have been blooming like crazy here! Some years our roses don't do as well but this year, they are just full of blooms. They are so beautiful as you drive up to our home, the driveway is just welcoming with all the gorgeous roses. My sweet husband cut me a bloom yesterday and brought it in. So sweet!

32.  I've been feeling so much better and I praise the Lord for his mercies! I've been able to do a little more and I'm so thankful to the Lord. He is so wonderful!! I am truly blessed.

33. I'm thankful for my family who blesses me in so many ways every day. I would have to write a novel to share all the big and little things my family does for me.

34.  My husband is getting a little better day by day. He's still tired, but I'm so thankful that he is able to do a little more and is feeling better. He is a huge blessing to me!

35.  I've been doing more cross stitch lately and I'm almost finished with a project that, hopefully, I'll share this Friday on Show and Tell Day. Cross stitch has always been such a blessing to me because it is so calming and relaxing.

What are your blessings?  I would love for you to share! Grab a button on the sidebar and share your own blessings on your blog and then link your blog with mine below.



God bless you - Julie

Amazing Special!

Until the end of May, you can get this amazing set for 50%! This is an offer only available through clicking on the link below. I hope you'll take the time to check this out. 

Don't forget to use the special code at check-out to receive the 50% discount. :)

Blessings - Julie

Book Review - Anything - the prayer that unlocked my God and my Soul

Anything - by Jennie Allen

MY REVIEW:

This book was simply amazing. It is deep, insightful, and will absolutely make you think about your relationship with the Lord and whether or not you're willing to do anything for Him.

I had reviewed Jennie's Bible study, "Stuck" and it was so great I didn't think she could top that, but she not only topped it, she went way above and beyond!

I think the first thing I love about reading her book was that she's totally real and open. She tells it like it is and doesn't sugar coat her feelings or life. I love that! This book was about her and her husband praying a prayer to the Lord that they would do anything He called them to do. Anything. I don't know about you, but that strikes a little fear in my heart! If you're like me, you pray, "I'll do anything for you Lord, but....."  With Jennie and her husband, there was no "but". As I read her book, though, I realized how much God was working in their lives through this huge prayer!

I wondered how much I was missing out on by not praying this prayer. How many things does the Lord have for me to do, but I haven't surrendered my will to His? Reading "Anything" made me want to pray this prayer, though, because I could see how much the Lord was doing through Jennie! How amazing to be used in such a wonderful way! Her Bible study and this book are a testament to her willingness to surrender and be obedient to God and I can see how much these two things have changed my own relationship with the Lord! Imagine if she hadn't been obedient and we didn't have these great resourses?

She was honest that she and her family were attacked by the enemy when they became obedient to the Lord and prayed this prayer of surrender. I love that. She prepared us for the war that would be ahead of us if we chose to pray "anything" to the Lord. After reading this book, I'm ready. I'm ready to pray that prayer! I want the Lord to use me and I want to have the faith to be obedient to anything he calls me to!

I highly, highly recommend this book! It will scare you to death, but in a good way! lol We all like to think we are in control of our lives, don't you know.  You will come to see that surrendering all to the Lord is the greatest calling we can have in this life.

*This book was provided to me for my honest review by Shelton Interactive

God bless you - Julie

Show and Tell Friday!

This week I'm sharing something so adorable! It's another one of my crocheted projects and I just loved how they came out. I made these for my grand-nieces to enjoy.  They are little purse/backpacks. I made one in purple and one in pink 'cuz lets face it, what little girl (or big girl for that matter) doesn't love purple and pink?

First, here's a picture of the purple purse.  I created the drawstrings/straps using two strands of yarn crocheted together.  I used an off white for the base of both purses and then used purple accents for this one.

Just a side note: The pink afghan in the background was not made by me, but I found it at the Goodwill! It was so beautiful and only $1.99. I just couldn't believe anyone would donate this so I brought it home and have loved it ever since.  Now on to purse two.

This one is made the same way, but has the prominent pink accents . SO cute!

I really loved how these purses were made with a solid bottom so things wouldn't fall out. The sides do have some airy qualities about them, but I don't believe anything will fall out unless they put something very tiny in the purse.

Here are the two purses together

Just precious, aren't they? I think what really makes them are the flowers on the front. These are not as hard as you may believe and really added something special to the little purses.

Here are the links so you can make your own purse for a special little girl or two in your life.

PURSE PATTERN HERE

FLOWER AND LEAF PATTERN HERE

I hope you enjoyed seeing these cute little purses. I certainly enjoyed making them!

Share your own "Show and Tell" by linking up! Just click on the linky below this post and share something special you've made, a recipe, decorating tips, or whatever!! Thank you, as always, for coming by and seeing my latest show and tell.

Book Review - 1000 Days

1000 Days - The Ministry of Christ
by Jonathan Falwell

MY REVIEW:

This book really ministered to me. I loved reading about Christ's ministry and really getting deep into His teachings. I read this book with a yellow highlighter because there was so much I wanted to go back the review or share with others. There were many things in the book that will help me in my ministries I'm involved in at church.

This book would be great for a new Christian to really understand the teachings of Christ, however, I learned so much myself. It was also a really easy book to read with stories and wonderful personal thoughts by Mr. Falwell scattered throughout. It wasn't dry reading at all and I really enjoyed the book.

I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to understand Christ's teachings and his ministry in a deeper way. It was an enjoyable book and also a book to refer back to when you're wanting to dig deeper into the teachings of Christ.

*This book was provided to me through The BookSneeze program for my honest review

Blessings - Julie

Counting Our Blessings

I hope you enjoyed the special Mother's Day postings last week. I hope they blessed you as much as they did me. I always love sharing beautiful writings when I can.

Now we're back to Counting Our Blessings! I love counting my blessings and I hope you will sit down and count your own.  Be sure and share them on the linky below!

26.  I was so blessed by my Mother's Day! My family gave me beautiful cards that made me cry with their sweet sentiments inside and the special personal writings from each person. Such treasures that I will keep forever! I also got a very special gift from my husband. I had been wanting to change the decor in my living room for awhile now. The room is painted a beautiful, soft blue and I thought it would be nice to change it to more of a beach decor. Make it softer and relaxing. So, my husband gave me a beautiful table-top fountain that looks like shells stacked on each other. You can see it HERE  I will plan everything around this piece and it will be so relaxing to hear the water flowing. Such a thoughtful gift and such a blessing!

27.  I was blessed with a day where I felt so good! I went out to my studio and painted that day and then came in and cooked BBQ chicken wings for my family. This is a huge undertaking as I fry the wings and then make the homemade sauce to dip them in. It takes me over three hours to fry those babies up, but let me tell you, it's worth it when I see the happy looks on my family's faces when they take that first bite. I also made homemade potato salad that day, too, and everyone really enjoyed it. I was so blessed to be able to do this and to have a day where I felt so good. God is SO good with his tender mercies!

28.  I have been blessed for three years to have the best doctor ever. Truly, he has been the best doctor I've ever had. Recently, however, he decided to move back to his home state and will be leaving our area. I was sad to hear this news, but totally understand that he and his wife want to be closer to their family. Thankfully, there is another doctor in his office that we like and will take us as patients. I am just thankful that we had such a wonderful, Godly doctor and that he blessed our life so much with his care, concern, and expertise of our health care.

29.  It's a blessing that my children are done with their Spring semester of school. They had such a huge workload this semester and really needed a break. They both got A's in all their classes, too! I'm so thankful that they can take some time to recoup and recover before starting their next session of classes!

30.  I was so blessed by my Pastor's message this past Sunday! It was almost as if he had written his sermon just for me! It's funny how God works these things out, isn't it? I always love learning new things about God's Word and am so blessed to be a member of a church that believes the whole Word of God and takes it literally. I was also blessed by the gift that I was given for Mother's Day by my church. A gorgeous truffle from a local candy company that makes the best candy! I still haven't had it and am saving it for a day when I really want a special piece of chocolate. lol

How have you been blessed this week?  Please share on the linky below! I would love to read about your blessings!!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day, dear friends! I hope you have a wonderful Mother's Day and enjoy a day that is devoted to the beauty and love of motherhood. May God abundantly bless you on this day and always!

Please enjoy this special post by Rhonda Schrock. I hope it will brighten you day.

Blessings - Julie

Welcome to Pearl Girls™ Mother of Pearl Mother's Day blog series - a week long celebration of moms and mothering. Each day will feature a new post by some of today's best writer's (Tricia Goyer, Sheila Walsh, Suzanne Woods Fisher, Bonnie St. John, and more). I hope you'll join us each day for another unique perspective on Mother's Day.

AND ... do enter the contest for a chance to win a beautiful hand crafted pearl necklace. To enter, just {CLICK THIS LINK} and fill out the short form. Contest runs 5/6-5/13 and the winner will on 5/14. Contest is only open to US and Canadian residents.

If you are unfamiliar with Pearl Girls™, please visit www.pearlgirls.info and see what we're all about. In short, we exist to support the work of charities that help women and children in the US and around the globe. Consider purchasing a copy of Pearl Girls: Encountering Grit, Experiencing Grace or one of the Pearl Girls™ products (all GREAT Mother's Day gifts!) to help support Pearl Girls.

And to all you MOMS out there, Happy Mother's Day!

What I Didn't Know by Rhonda Shrock

I always knew I wanted to be a mother.  As a girl, I played house with my dollies, shushing them when they cried and kissing their plastic heads.

Looking back at that girl, I realize now that there was a lot she didn't know.  This morning over my fresh-ground coffee, this mother of 22-1/2 years scratched out a list of 10 things she didn't know then that she knows now.

1.  I didn't know - how could I? - just how completely a tiny, helpless scrap of humanity can capture the heart and hold it forever.  From that first whooshing heartbeat and the first butterfly brushes, a mother's heart is never again her own.  For all eternity, it enlarges, walking and pulsing and moving outside of her body; in my case, in the shape of a blue-eyed boy with rooster tails.  Times four.

2.  I didn't know that the size of a mother's heart is always changing, stretching to embrace each new baby that comes, then growing again to love their friends and then their own families.

3.  I never knew, as I changed my dolly's dress, how many reasons there are to worry when you're a mama.   Didn't know about the nighttime vigils.  Didn't know the anxiety of separation, the terror that floods when you turn around in the grocery store and they're gone.  Didn't know about the fear of the pond next door or the concern that pays for swimming lessons.  Didn't know the thousand-and-one reasons that keep a mother awake, whispering prayers on her pillow in the dark.

4.  No one told me that loving so much means that you will hurt hard and keen;  that what pains your child hurts you even worse.  I didn't know then that a playground taunt travels through that smaller heart and lands square in yours, stinging and burning like fire.  I didn't know that motherhood makes lionesses of us all and that there'd be days I'd have to bite my tongue and pray to not sin.

5.  I didn't know how exhausting it is, being a mother.  I didn't know that it takes everything you've got and then some.  Didn't know the bone-deep exhaustion; how it strips you bare and shows how selfish you can be, but, too, that you have more strength than you know.

6.  I didn't know, playing house, how much joy mothers feel; joy so big that it makes up for the pain.  Just looking at those eyes and the curve of the cheek can make you so happy it hurts.  Watching them grow and find their talent and win at something...all the money in the world can never buy that kind of happiness.

7.  I didn't know how making babies and raising them, how it binds you to their father.  I didn't know the intimacy you feel when your eyes meet above those tousled heads, and your smiles say, "Just look at what we've done."

8.  That girl in the homemade dress, she didn't know that letting go is one of the hardest things a grown-up mama will ever do.  Rocking those babies in that small rocking chair, she didn't really know that babies grow up and walk away and there goes your heart, out into the big, wide world.  No one told her that part.

9.  I had no idea how rewarding it is, being a mother.  How the happiness that comes from boy kisses and awkward hugs can't be bought or sold.  How proud you feel when you see what they're growing up to be and that all the planting and pruning and watering and feeding is finally making fruit!

10.  I didn't know how much my babies would enrich my spiritual life or how they would change the way I pray.  I didn't realize they would lead me to a deeper dependence on the Heavenly Father or how I much I would need His wisdom to raise them aright.

These are things I didn't know before I was a mother.  But I know them now.  Oh, how I know them now!  And I’d do it all again.

Rhonda Schrock lives in Northern Indiana with her husband and 4 sons, ages 22, 18, 13, and 5. By day, she is a telecommuting medical transcriptionist. In the early morning hours, she flees to a local coffee shop where she pens “Grounds for Insanity,” a weekly column that appears in The Goshen News. She is an occasional guest columnist in The Hutch News.  She’s also blogged professionally for her son’s school of choice, Bethel College, in addition to humor and parenting blogs, and maintains her personal blog, “The Natives are Getting Restless.” She is a writer and editor for the magazine, "Cooking & Such:  Adventures in Plain Living."  She survives and thrives on prayer, mochas, and books.  

Exciting News – the latest Pearl Girls book, Mother of Pearl: Luminous Legacies and Iridescent Faith will be released this month! Please visit the Pearl Girls Facebook Page (and LIKE us!) for more information! Thanks so much for your support!

Special Mother's Day Post - Day 6

I hope you enjoy this guest post by Carey Bailey. Have a blessed Saturday!

God bless you - Julie

Welcome to Pearl Girls™ Mother of Pearl Mother's Day blog series - a week long celebration of moms and mothering. Each day will feature a new post by some of today's best writer's (Tricia Goyer, Sheila Walsh, Suzanne Woods Fisher, Bonnie St. John, and more). I hope you'll join us each day for another unique perspective on Mother's Day.

AND ... do enter the contest for a chance to win a beautiful hand crafted pearl necklace. To enter, just {CLICK THIS LINK} and fill out the short form. Contest runs 5/6-5/13 and the winner will on 5/14. Contest is only open to US and Canadian residents.

If you are unfamiliar with Pearl Girls™, please visit www.pearlgirls.info and see what we're all about. In short, we exist to support the work of charities that help women and children in the US and around the globe. Consider purchasing a copy of Pearl Girls: Encountering Grit, Experiencing Grace or one of the Pearl Girls™ products (all GREAT Mother's Day gifts!) to help support Pearl Girls.

And to all you MOMS out there, Happy Mother's Day!

He Will Walk With You by Carey Bailey

As a little girl, I loved baby dolls. Loved them! I played school, adoption agency, daycare operator and babysitter all day. I felt like I was born to be a mama. Therefore, I was a bit anxious when the ages, 22, 25, 28 and 32 came and went and there were no babies. Have you ever desired something so much and feared never getting it? That was me.

My day finally came at the age of 34. I soon realized that God knew what He was doing when He had me wait. To my shock, it wasn’t as easy as playing with dolls. I was surprised that it wasn’t the dream world I imagined it would be! I felt like life became a gigantic prayer.

“God, HELP me!”

“Please, God. Please, please, please make it all better. I can’t do this!”

“God, this feels impossible. Where are you?”

While I adore motherhood, it is harder and there are more adjustments than I expected. (I am hoping there are some nodding of heads and Amen’s being said out there in cyberworld.) Not only did I have a new life to care for, but my identity suddenly felt all scrambled up. It took me until my son was one to finally feel confident in my new role as a mother, confident that I could drop my child off at preschool without crying, confident that I could go out with the girls’ and the world wouldn’t fall apart, and confident that I could go on a date night and have conversations that didn’t revolve just around our son.

I was feeling settled in my new world and then WHAM! I discovered I was pregnant again. Can I be vulnerable with you? I actually cried when I found out. And they were not tears of joy. I feel awful saying that out loud, and I hope you will give me a moment to explain. It was not that I didn’t want another baby or feel like I couldn’t love a new life, it was just that I got scared. Discovering a little person was on the way sent a panic through me. Would my son still receive the love and attention that he deserved? How was my husband going to feel about my body changing again? Would I ever be able to pursue the vision I felt God had for me in writing and publishing? I was truly wondering if I was going to be able to handle another intense wave of identity crisis like the one I had just been through. I wasn’t sure.

God and I needed a serious talk. And in that conversation He carefully reminded me of this:

“For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11

He reminded me in our time together that I, too, am His child and He has every intention of loving me, caring for me, and giving me the future that He has planned for me.

As mothers, we can get so caught up in parenting that we forget that we, too, have a spiritual parent who loves us as His child. He loves you as much as He loves the children He has given you. He will never forsake you.  And on those days when motherhood seems too overwhelming and too impossible I step back and take a deep breath. Then I remember that this journey I am on, right now, is the one He has designed and create uniquely for me. I simply need to live in it, learn from it, and allow His love to sweep over and through me.

He will walk with me! He will walk with you! Grab His hand.

Carey Bailey is a recovering perfectionist, wife, proud mama, and the Family Life Director for her church in Arizona. She hosts an online community for moms called Cravings: desiring God in the midst of motherhood where she strives to make God time easier. Not less meaningful, just easier. She is the author of Cravings {The Devotional} which is a set of forty devotional flashcards for the mama on the go. Visit Carey online blog: www.cravingstheblog.blogspot.com Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/CravingsOnline and Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/careycbailey/

Exciting News – the latest Pearl Girls book, Mother of Pearl: Luminous Legacies and Iridescent Faith will be released this month! Please visit the Pearl Girls Facebook Page (and LIKE us!) for more information! Thanks so much for your support!

Special Mother's Day Post - Day 5

I hope you have a wonderful Friday! I'm sharing this wonderful post with you today on the Friday before Mother's Day. I hope it blesses your heart. I will resume "Show and Tell Friday" next week.

God bless you - Julie

Welcome to Pearl Girls™ Mother of Pearl Mother's Day blog series - a week long celebration of moms and mothering. Each day will feature a new post by some of today's best writer's (Tricia Goyer, Sheila Walsh, Suzanne Woods Fisher, Bonnie St. John, and more). I hope you'll join us each day for another unique perspective on Mother's Day.

AND ... do enter the contest for a chance to win a beautiful hand crafted pearl necklace. To enter, just {CLICK THIS LINK} and fill out the short form. Contest runs 5/6-5/13 and the winner will on 5/14. Contest is only open to US and Canadian residents.

If you are unfamiliar with Pearl Girls™, please visit www.pearlgirls.info and see what we're all about. In short, we exist to support the work of charities that help women and children in the US and around the globe. Consider purchasing a copy of Pearl Girls: Encountering Grit, Experiencing Grace or one of the Pearl Girls™ products (all GREAT Mother's Day gifts!) to help support Pearl Girls.

And to all you MOMS out there, Happy Mother's Day!

Stepping Out on Faith by Bonnie St. John

"Darcy . . .”

“Yeah, Mom?”

I momentarily held the undivided attention of my teenage daughter. Her thumbs, free of their ubiquitous texting keypad, quietly dangled by her side. Her computer and its omnipresent Facebook page were completely out of sight. I had almost forgotten what she looked like without all these adolescent accoutrements. As we sat down together on the burgundy leather sofa in our living room, I realized this fleeting state of electronic dislocation was my chance to hatch a plan I had been formu- lating for the past several weeks. Carpe diem.

“How would you like to write a book together?”

“About what?” I asked my mom. Write a book? This was a real surprise. I felt a bit suspicious, but still curious.  I love to write, and Mom kept telling me I was really good at it. I like writing poetry, fantasy, and sci-fi, though.  The books Mom wrote were all nonfiction.  I wondered what we could possibly do together.

“Well . . .” I hesitated. If I wanted her to commit to any extra work out- side her busy schedule at school—not to mention work alongside her mother—I had to make this really great. “It would be about women as leaders,” I continued, “a mother-daughter investigation into leadership styles and structures.”

“Leadership?” I blurted. It came out as if I had a bad taste in my mouth—which I did.  I couldn’t imagine a more boring topic to write about. What is there to say about leadership anyway? When you’re in charge, you just get things done, right? Who wants to talk about that?

Her furrowed brow told me I was losing her fast. “Um . . . we could find women leaders all around the world!” I said impulsively, frantically casting the ultimate bait.

“Really? Would we get to travel a lot?”  I hadn’t thought about that. Heck, I’d write about the mating habits of tsetse flies  if I got to go to Africa to do it!

But this project wasn’t just about the influence it would have on Darcy. I wanted to do something that could have a potent impact on an alarming trend I had witnessed in workplaces across the country: far too many women appeared to be making a choice not to apply for top leadership positions when presented with the opportunities to do so.

This project, then, was a bit of a Trojan horse. On the one hand, the saga of a mother-daughter journey could seduce female readers, who might never bother to read the Harvard Business School dissertations on the subject, into a meaningful conversation about leadership. At the same time, if Darcy met a series of brilliant, accomplished women— people even a cynical teen would be in awe of—perhaps they could tell her all the things I’d like her to know—and more.

And she just might listen.

But where to start? How would we make it work? I suggested we do most of our research by phone, as I did for How Strong Women Pray. My telephone interviews with a governor, some CEOs, actors, sports figures, a college president, and others yielded great stories and information. I promised my intrepid co-author, though, that we could punctuate these conversations with a few visits in person to exciting and exotic places—all with reasonably priced airfares.

“Why don’t we follow each subject as she goes about her daily life? That way our readers get to come along with us and get a behind- the-scenes look at what happens to them. Instead of just a boring interview, we—and our readers—get to hang around with these women, see them in their natural habitat, and even see how other people treat them.”

Although I agreed it was a wonderful approach, this idea of “job- shadowing” each featured subject wasn’t going to be easy. Would these high-powered, important women deign to allow us that kind of access? Would they be able to impart the kind of wisdom that would resonate with our readers and truly make a difference in their lives?  We looked at each other, both of us hooked on a crazy idea that we weren’t sure we could pull off.

“It sounds impossible, Darcy,” I said. “We might as well get started.”

And so, we stepped out . . . on faith.

Bonnie is a 1984 Paralympics silver medal winner in ski racing. Her education includes a degree with honors from Harvard, a Rhodes scholarship, and an M.Litt in Economics from Oxford.  Her career includes positions as an award-winning sales rep for IBM and a Clinton White House member of staff. She now is a much-in-demand speaker, who makes nearly 100 speeches each year to corporations and civic groups. You can visit her on the Web at www.bonniestjohn.com.

Re-printed with permission from How Great Women Lead by Bonnie St. John and Darcy Deane

Exciting News – the latest Pearl Girls book, Mother of Pearl: Luminous Legacies and Iridescent Faith will be released this month! Please visit the Pearl Girls Facebook Page (and LIKE us!) for more information! Thanks so much for your support!

Special Mother's Day Post - Day 4

Here's a very special post by Tricia Goyer for you to enjoy as part of my special week before Mother's Day.  I hope it touches your heart today.

God bless you - Julie

Welcome to Pearl Girls™ Mother of Pearl Mother's Day blog series - a week long celebration of moms and mothering. Each day will feature a new post by some of today's best writer's (Tricia Goyer, Sheila Walsh, Suzanne Woods Fisher, Bonnie St. John, and more). I hope you'll join us each day for another unique perspective on Mother's Day.

AND ... do enter the contest for a chance to win a beautiful hand crafted pearl necklace. To enter, just {CLICK THIS LINK} and fill out the short form. Contest runs 5/6-5/13 and the winner will on 5/14. Contest is only open to US and Canadian residents.

If you are unfamiliar with Pearl Girls™, please visit www.pearlgirls.info and see what we're all about. In short, we exist to support the work of charities that help women and children in the US and around the globe. Consider purchasing a copy of Pearl Girls: Encountering Grit, Experiencing Grace or one of the Pearl Girls™ products (all GREAT Mother's Day gifts!) to help support Pearl Girls.

And to all you MOMS out there, Happy Mother's Day!

What I Am Not by Tricia Goyer

Becoming a mother is a complicated thing. Not only am I trying to negotiate a relationship with my child, I am trying to negotiate a relationship with myself as I attempt to determine how I mother, how I feel about mothering, how I want to mother and how I wish I was mothered.

— Andrea J. Buchanan, in Mother Shock3

Sometimes the easiest way to discover who we are is to know who we are not.

• We are not our children. We all know mothers who go overboard trying to make themselves look good by making their children look great. I saw one woman on the Oprah television show who had bought her preschool daughter more than twelve pairs of black shoes just so the girl could have different styles to go with her numerous outfits! Just as we -don’t get report cards for mothering, we also -don’t get graded on our child’s looks or accomplishments. While you want your children to do their best and succeed in life, your self-esteem -shouldn’t be wrapped up in your child.

Life as I See It:

My individuality will never end. There will be no one exactly like me, not even my child. She will be like me in some ways, but not at all in others. I -wouldn’t have it any other way.

— Desiree, Texas

• We are not our mothers. I remember the first time I heard my mother’s voice coming out of my mouth. The words “because I told you so .  .  .” escaped before I had a chance to squelch them.

It’s not until we have kids that we truly understand our mothers — all their frets, their nagging, and their worries.

It’s also then that we truly understand their love.

Since you are now a mother, it’s good to think back on how you were raised. If there were traditions or habits that now seem wise and useful, incorporate them into your parenting. You also have permission to sift out things you now know -weren’t good. Just because you’re a product of your mother, that -doesn’t mean you have to turn out just like her. Repeat after me, “I am not my mother.”

• We are not like any other mother out there. Sometimes you may feel like the world’s worst mother. After all, your friend never yells at her son — and sometimes you do. Then again, your friend may feel bad because you have a wonderful bedtime routine that includes stories and songs. In many cases, the moms you feel inferior to only look like they have it together. All moms feel they -don’t “measure up.” Instead of feeling unworthy, we should realize that everyone has strengths and weaknesses. The key is where we place our focus.

The Bible says, “Let’s just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without .  .  . comparing ourselves with each other, or trying to be something we -aren’t” (Romans 12:5 – 6, MESSAGE).

The problem with comparison is, we always measure our weaknesses against the strengths of others.

Instead, we need to thank God for our strengths. We can also ask God to help us overcome our weaknesses — not because we want to compare ourselves, or look good in someone else’s eyes, but because we want to be the best mom out there.

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Tricia Goyer is a CBA best-selling author and the winner of two American Christian Fiction Writers’ Book of the Year Awards (Night Song and Dawn of a Thousand Nights). She co-wrote 3:16 Teen Edition with Max Lucado and contributed to the Women of Faith Study Bible. Also a noted marriage and parenting writer, she lives with her husband and children in Arkansas. You can find her online at www.triciagoyer.com or at her weekly radio show, Living Inspired.

Exciting News – the latest Pearl Girls book, Mother of Pearl: Luminous Legacies and Iridescent Faith will be released this month! Please visit the Pearl Girls Facebook Page (and LIKE us!) for more information! Thanks so much for your support!

Special Mother's Day Post - Day 3

 Enjoy this special pre-Mother's Day post! Hope you're having a very blessed week!

God bless you - Julie

Welcome to Pearl Girls™ Mother of Pearl Mother's Day blog series - a week long celebration of moms and mothering. Each day will feature a new post by some of today's best writer's (Tricia Goyer, Sheila Walsh, Suzanne Woods Fisher, Bonnie St. John, and more). I hope you'll join us each day for another unique perspective on Mother's Day.

AND ... do enter the contest for a chance to win a beautiful hand crafted pearl necklace. To enter, just {CLICK THIS LINK} and fill out the short form. Contest runs 5/6-5/13 and the winner will on 5/14. Contest is only open to US and Canadian residents.

If you are unfamiliar with Pearl Girls™, please visit www.pearlgirls.info and see what we're all about. In short, we exist to support the work of charities that help women and children in the US and around the globe. Consider purchasing a copy of Pearl Girls: Encountering Grit, Experiencing Grace or one of the Pearl Girls™ products (all GREAT Mother's Day gifts!) to help support Pearl Girls.

And to all you MOMS out there, Happy Mother's Day!

She’s…My Everything by Suzanne Woods Fisher

“A mother is one who can take the place of all others, but whose place no one else can take.”

--Cardinal Mermillod 

Just a few more months. My mother was hoping Dad would hang on long enough so they could celebrate their sixtieth wedding anniversary in April. But on January 1st, as the sun rose on the new year, my dad’s worn out heart beat its last. Dad had battled Alzheimer’s Disease for ten years. As many of you know, AD is a long, hard journey. Hard on the one afflicted with the disease, hard on the caregivers.

But not without its blessings.

Four years ago, as I began researching stories for Amish Peace: Simple Wisdom for a Complicated World, my path crossed with a handful of Plain families who were coping with Alzheimer’s. It was just about the point when Dad’s illness was shifting from early to mid stages AD and the timing was a divine accident. I learned so much as I observed the calm acceptance of these families. Rather than waste time shaking a fist at God for allowing this disease to take their loved one, they put their energy into trusting God’s sovereignty. They didn’t deny the difficulties and complications and sadness of Alzheimer’s, but they didn’t dwell on them. “God has a plan,” one woman told me. “He always has a plan.”  

Something else I noticed was how privileged my Amish friends felt about caring for their loved one. Caring for the elderly, they believe, is the time to give back to them.

Those encounters shaped my perspective of Dad’s illness. I started to pay attention to how God provided answers to new wrinkles created by Alzheimer’s, just in time. God may be slow, but He is never late.

I started to cherish special moments or good days with Dad—just as he was at each point in his illness. Not mourning the past, not dreading the future.

I really miss my dad. I miss his scratchy whiskers and the way his eyebrows would wiggle at us, even as words failed him. Yet I have such peace in my heart that he was well loved and well cared for, right to the very end. And as hard as Dad’s end of life has been, it isn’t the end. We will meet again. As the saying goes, “Some may see a hopeless end, but as believers we rejoice in an endless hope.”

There’s a beautiful story that illustrates my parents’ 59-year marriage. This event happened about a year or two ago. My sister had accompanied our mother to the doctor appointment for Dad at the Stanford Memory Clinic.

Dad had declined quite a bit that month. He was weak and lethargic, even to the point of whispering, as if it took too much energy to project his voice. During the doctor's appointment, the doctor told my mother and sister that Dad was now in late stages of Alzheimer's. Dad didn’t have much vocabulary left, but when the doctor asked him who mom was, he whispered something back. The doctor looked at Mom and asked, "Did you hear what he just said?"

Mom shook her head.

"When I asked him who you were, he whispered, 'She's...my everything.'"

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Suzanne Woods Fisher is a writer of bestselling fiction and non-fiction books about the Old Order Amish. Her interest in the Plain People began with her grandfather, W. D. Benedict, who was raised Plain. Suzanne is the host of Amish Wisdom, a weekly radio program on toginet.com, and writes a bi-monthly column for Christian Post. Suzanne can be found on-line at www.suzannewoodsfisher.com.



Re-printed with permission by Cooking & Such, www.sherrygorebooks.com.

Exciting News – the latest Pearl Girls book, Mother of Pearl: Luminous Legacies and Iridescent Faith will be released this month! Please visit the Pearl Girls Facebook Page (and LIKE us!) for more information! Thanks so much for your support!

Special Mother's Day Post - Day 2

In honor of Mother's Day coming up, I'm posting some special guest posts for you to enjoy. I will not be doing the "Counting Our Blessings" post as usual today, but will resume it next week.  I hope you enjoy this very special post by Sheila Walsh.

God bless you - Julie

Welcome to Pearl Girls™ Mother of Pearl Mother's Day blog series - a week long celebration of moms and mothering. Each day will feature a new post by some of today's best writer's (Tricia Goyer, Sheila Walsh, Suzanne Woods Fisher, Bonnie St. John, and more). I hope you'll join us each day for another unique perspective on Mother's Day.

AND ... do enter the contest for a chance to win a beautiful hand crafted pearl necklace. To enter, just {CLICK THIS LINK} and fill out the short form. Contest runs 5/6-5/13 and the winner will on 5/14. Contest is only open to US and Canadian residents.

If you are unfamiliar with Pearl Girls™, please visit www.pearlgirls.info and see what we're all about. In short, we exist to support the work of charities that help women and children in the US and around the globe. Consider purchasing a copy of Pearl Girls: Encountering Grit, Experiencing Grace or one of the Pearl Girls™ products (all GREAT Mother's Day gifts!) to help support Pearl Girls.

And to all you MOMS out there, Happy Mother's Day!

Joy Comes from Perseverance by Sheila Walsh

One of the most important lessons I have learned in my own life is the joy that comes from perseverance. Eugene Peterson, borrowing a phrase from Friedrich Nietzsche, wrote his book  “A Long Obedience in the Same Direction …Discipleship in an Instant Society.” He points to the Psalms as the way believers have always learned to pray what they live and live what they pray but it is not a short journey. It is an intentional commitment to keep walking even when you are worn out.

*If we want to see lasting results in any area of life it’s important to keep walking in that direction.

*If we want to have a better understanding of the Gospel of John then it takes time and commitment to dig deeper day after day.

*If we want to be thinner this summer than last summer then the work begins now not then.
So too in our relationship with Christ…..

*If we want to know Him at a more profoundly intimate level, that also takes an intentional seeking after Him every day.

As a grown woman I have come to love the beauty of this gift. Passing this “mined treasure” onto my son on the other hand has been an interesting challenge.  We live in such a fast paced, attention-challenged culture where the latest thing can be delivered to your doorstep by tomorrow for a few dollars more. But, as you know, by the time it is delivered it has already been replaced or updated!

How do we speak then into the lives of our children to help them understand and value perseverance?

For me…part of the puzzle meant a large piece of poster board, scissors, some photos and a bottle of Elmer’s glue. My son, Christian and I spread everything out on a sheet in the game room as I explained our project. “We’re going to make a family faith-tree,” I said. “These are photos of family on your dad’s side and on mine. Many of them have gone on to be with Jesus but the seeds they planted into our family continue to grow.” Then we wrote down their names and when they came to faith in Christ (as many as I knew).  It was quite something to see when we were finished.

“Your life matters Christian. Running your race well matters.”

That night we read these words from the writer to the Hebrews,

“We are surrounded by a great cloud of people whose lives tell us what faith means. So let us run the race that is before us and never give up.”

Hebrews 12:1 (NCV)

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Sheila Walsh is a Bible teacher, speaker, singer, and best-selling author with more than 4 million books sold. Sheila Walsh is the creator of the award-winning Gigi, God’s Little Princess® and her new series, Gabby, God's Little Angel. Meet Gabby in Gabby's Stick-to-It-Day. As a featured speaker with Women of Faith®, Sheila has reached more than 3.5 million women by artistically combining honesty, vulnerability and humor with God’s Word. She resides in Dallas with her husband Barry and son Christian. Visit www.sheilawalsh.com for more information about Sheila, her other books or Women of Faith.




Exciting News – the latest Pearl Girls book, Mother of Pearl: Luminous Legacies and Iridescent Faith will be released this month! Please visit the Pearl Girls Facebook Page (and LIKE us!) for more information! Thanks so much for your support!

Special Mother's Day Post - Day 1

During this week leading up to Mother's Day, I am going to share some special posts each day to share with you, my friends. I hope you will enjoy them!

God bless you ~ Julie

Welcome to Pearl Girls™ Mother of Pearl Mother's Day blog series - a week long celebration of moms and mothering. Each day will feature a new post by some of today's best writer's (Tricia Goyer, Sheila Walsh, Suzanne Woods Fisher, Bonnie St. John, and more). I hope you'll join us each day for another unique perspective on Mother's Day.

AND ... do enter the contest for a chance to win a beautiful hand crafted pearl necklace. To enter, just {CLICK THIS LINK} and fill out the short form. Contest runs 5/6-5/13 and the winner will on 5/14. Contest is only open to US and Canadian residents.

If you are unfamiliar with Pearl Girls™, please visit www.pearlgirls.info and see what we're all about. In short, we exist to support the work of charities that help women and children in the US and around the globe. Consider purchasing a copy of Pearl Girls: Encountering Grit, Experiencing Grace or one of the Pearl Girls™ products (all GREAT Mother's Day gifts!) to help support Pearl Girls.

And to all you MOMS out there, Happy Mother's Day!

Priceless Treasure by Cindy K. Stiverson

We've heard it said and often find it true:

You don't know the value of a treasure until you're without it. 

We take for granted the things in life that seem so readily available.

   A paperclip or rubber band, to hold things together.

   A tissue or napkin, to wipe our nose to clean our face, to absorb our tears.

   A Bible to speak words of wisdom and instruction and life and love.

And a Mother, who is all these things and more.

   She is readily available.

   She holds things together.

   She wipes our nose, cleans our face (and our fingers, and, well…everything else!)

   She absorbs our tears and calms our fears.

  "She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue." (Proverbs 31:26)

   She loves.

Within hours after my mother passed into the gates of our heavenly home, I was missing her. Her quick wit…humor…charm. Her warm smile and melodious laughter, which served her well to the very end, as did our Lord Jesus Christ, who so graciously allowed her to slip quietly and peacefully into His arms.

She simply stopped breathing.

As I stood at her bedside in those priceless moments after her passing, I wanted to touch her skin as much as possible while there was still warmth in her body; to nuzzle my nose against her head and breathe in the scent of her hair while she was still there. Priceless treasures I was guilty of taking for granted, clouded by unmet needs. I was so consumed with what she was not, that I never fully appreciated who she was. It’s like I was blind, but now I see!

I see her strength, her commitment. Her perseverance…sacrifice…her unspoken love. I see how much she meant to me, how much she did for me, how much she taught me, and how much of the good in me was modeled by her.

She was a virtuous woman, as described in Proverbs 31 of the Bible.

“Her children stand and bless her… a woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised. Reward her for all she has done. Let her deeds publicly declare her praise (vs. 31).”

This last verse of the poem serves as an epitaph for the woman of virtue. It speaks of the legacy she leaves in her passing. It spurred me to write a personal epitaph for my mother, which I read at her funeral.

We publicly declare your praise today, 

and in the days to come,

for you deserve to be praised and blessed,

"We honor you, Mom, for all you have done!"

In my earliest of memories, 

You worked so hard, striving for the rest.

You persevered through great trials

and did your very best.

I know you are being rewarded

in ways far beyond our reach.

We honor you now by practicing what you've taught,

and even what you preached!

You've stood for us for all these years,

Today, we stand for you!

I pray that our applause on earth

will reach your heavenly ears.

With the reading of this poem, I asked everyone to stand. We clapped our hands in celebration and praise of the life of my mother, Margaret Alice Stiltner.

Imagine our surprise to discover that she had left a poetic epitaph for us! She had clipped it from an old magazine and framed it. I found it when I was cleaning her home, on a nightstand by her bed. My mother was never versed at expressing emotion. This was her sweet way of kissing us good-bye: a priceless treasure to remember her by.

###

Cynthia (Cindy) Stiverson is a speaker, writer, and artist.  In 1998, she founded Woven: Women of Virtue Network, a spiritual formation and friendship ministry. She pastors the women at Newark Church of the Nazarene in Ohio. She is currently working on her fourth Woven Workbook, and also a book for mothers and daughters on the subject of sexual abuse. Cindy considers raising her daughter, speaker/author Nicole Braddock Bromley, to be her greatest achievement. She loves the men in her life, hubby Mark, grandbabes Jude and Isaac, and son-in-law Matthew. You can find more of Cindy at www.WovenWomen.blogspot.com and www.CynthiaStiverson.com

Exciting News – the latest Pearl Girls book, Mother of Pearl: Luminous Legacies and Iridescent Faith will be released this month! Please visit the Pearl Girls Facebook Page (and LIKE us!) for more information! Thanks so much for your support!

Book Review - Forever Hilltop

ABOUT THE BOOK:
The charming and often hilarious Forever Hilltop series follows the experiences of former city dweller Alex Armstrong as he settles into his new role as pastor of a Scandinavian community in rural North Dakota. Alex is sometimes baffled by his parishioners and their colorful ways, but he comes to appreciate their simple wisdom. One thing's for sure -- life in Hilltop Township is never dull! This new two-in-one format features An Unlikely Blessing along with its sequel, Surprising Grace.

In An Unlikely Blessing, Alex Armstrong is a former city dweller who has just accepted his first parish assignment to a small community in the wilds of North Dakota. In Hilltop Township, Pastor Alex becomes familiar with the residents and their odd traditions, from julebukking to King Oscar's fish balls. And then there's the excitement the single pastor creates among the unmarried women in the community! Alex soon discovers that his new church home has as much to teach him as he has to teach them.

In Surprising Grace, Alex Armstrong is settling into his new role as pastor of Hilltop Church, and he's even starting to understand the strange ways of the people who populate this barren stretch of North Dakota prairie. But he also finds that his flock needs help and counsel like he never imagined. In this cozy and entertaining read, Alex must choose between the woman he once loved -- and the home he's come to love.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Judy Baer was born and grew up on a farm on the prairies of North Dakota, experiencing many of the same things as her Hilltop characters. An only child, she spent most of her days with imaginary people-either those she read about or those she made up in her head.

Baer graduated from Concordia College with majors in English and education and a minor in religion. While at the time, she was simply studying what interested her, Baer later realized that she was educating herself for her future career as a Christian writer. She certainly put her education to use as she is the author of more than 75 books.

A certified professional life coach now certified in three coaching disciplines, Baer coaches primarily professional and aspiring writers. She is also a faculty advisor in the Department of Human Development at St. Mary's University in Minneapolis, MN. Baer has two daughters and three step children. She and her husband live in Minnesota.

She invites you to visit her at her web site www.judykbaer.com for more information on her and her books.

You can buy the book HERE

MY REVIEW:

This book drew me in immediately. It was like visiting good friends or family in a special community that you knew you'd never visited, yet it felt like home.

This book very much reminded me of the genre of Jan Karon's books. I cared about the characters and couldn't wait to pick the book up again to see what happens next. There was a little romance, a little mystery, a lot of faith, and just a great story all the way around. I loved how faith and love for your brother/sister was woven through the whole story. The way that Alex, the new pastor, handled the division between the two churches he pastors was just brilliant. Nothing is tied up neat as a bow, yet throughout you can see where if we "have love for one another", great miracles can happen. I found myself laughing out loud and crying at different times in this book because the story was so real.

Judy Baer wrote a beautiful story and I can't wait to read the next installment! She is on my "Favorite Author" list now.

If you enjoy a good story, with believable characters (and who doesn't?), be sure and read "Forever Hilltop". I highly recommend it!

*This book was provided to me for my honest review by LitFuse Publicity Group

To see other review of this book go HERE

Enter Today - 5/3-5/22!

God bless you - Julie

Show and Tell Friday!

I have some fun things to show you this time. I am a real bargain hunter. I buy most everything on sale (if possible), at yard sales, or at thrift stores. When the holiday's come around, I look forward to the after-holiday sales to purchase my things for the following year. I do this with candy (I have Christmas and Easter chocolate candy in the freezer plus candy corn, too!), decorations and gifts. It's a wonderful way to have things for the holidays without paying an arm and a leg!

About two weeks ago, I popped into Hobby Lobby because they were having a sale on their cross stitch needles and I was in desperate need of some. This was about two weeks (maybe three) weeks after Easter and I decided to see if there was anything left that I could use or liked. There was lots of plastic eggs and easter grass but I don't need those anymore. I kept looking and found some wonderful things for - get this - 90% off!!! Yeah!

First I got two of these. One for myself and one for my sister. It's a Countdown to Easter and I love the cross with the purple robe draped over it!

There are little windows that you open up as you count down to Easter and it's just such a pretty thing! Not on sale, this would have been $5.99 - I got it for 59 cents!!

Next I found these precious rabbits! Honestly, I couldn't believe that these were still there. They are quite large and the stitching on them is really exceptional. They look like stuffed chocolate bunnies but the beautiful stitching sets them apart. I am thinking I may put these out other times than Easter. They are really a gorgeous decorative item.

Here's a better picture of the stitching.  So pretty, isn't it?

These bunnies would have cost $17.99 for the tall one and $12.99 for the lounging one.  I got them both for $3.08!! Woo-hoo!

Finally, I found this sweet Happy Easter sign.  I'm not sure if you can tell in the picture, but the writing is done with glitter and it's so pretty.  I also love the jewel flower on the "H".  Just adorable!

Isn't this cute?  I can just see this on my door next year. This would have been $9.99 but I only paid 99 cents! *happy dance here*

For all these beauties I paid $5.25 plus tax. So for under $6.00, I got some lovely new Easter decorations plus something sweet to give my sister!  I love that I can buy these new things for my home and yet not feel guilty! I am also very particular about what I buy. They had quite a bit left over from Easter, but I didn't just buy stuff because it was on sale. I bought what I knew I would use and would fit into my decor.

I hope you enjoyed seeing my show and tell! If you have something you would like to share, please link up with the linky below and share your own "share and tell" on your blog! I would love to see what you're going to share!

Counting Our Blessings

Keeping our eyes on the blessings of God, keeps us grounded in what is important. I love sharing my blessings every week, and I hope you'll share yours, too.

21.  Today is my husband's last radiation treatment! I am so thankful that he's done. He was starting to have more issues with it and side effects that are painful. Now that this is his last treatment, I'm praying that these painful issues will subside quickly. It's hard to see him having such a hard time.

22.  My last Bible study was last Wednesday and, while having it end was sad, it was such a wonderful blessing to be there for the study. I learned so much, met new friends, and was blessed beyond measure in so many ways. We had a potluck for the last study and let me tell you - those women know how to cook! Oh, my. Such fun and great fellowship.

23.  I'm thankful for a peaceful weekend. Hubby wasn't feeling good at all, so we stayed home, watched TV, read, listened to music and just enjoyed our time together. He slept a lot and it was much needed for his body.

24.  We've been enjoying such wonderful weather and we were able to get our patio ready for summer. We don't have everything done, but it's started and that's a huge accomplishment. After the pain filled year I had last year, the patio never got done because I'm the one that really enjoys it. It felt like such a blessing to be able to do what I did.

25.  I'm thankful to God for opening my eyes to new things and new ideas. He is helping me to see that I have a purpose in this life and is giving me the confidence to do those things. I still struggle with seeing that He would use me, but I'm slowly starting to accept it and am actually excited about my future!

Please share you own blessings! Grab a button on the sidebar, link up with my linky below this post and count your own blessings.  As always, thank you for coming by to see me and I'm so thankful for the many comments and emails I receive.  You are all a huge blessing!