At the beginning of 2012, I choose SIMPLIFY as my “one word” for the year.

God had been speaking to my heart the last few months of 2011 on my need to simplify my life. So, I entered 2012 with the goal of intentionally simplifying my life.

And this past month has been no exception.

Simplifying Life in May

1. Content Brew

The last two weeks, I’ve been taking a blogging/social media class called Content Brew.

In Content Brew, you’ll learn how to plan & create fresh content ideas for your blog, Facebook and Twitter. You’ll also learn ways to find content to share and tools to make doing all of this easier. At the end of this course, you’ll have anywhere from a month to a quarter’s worth of content planned out for your blog, Facebook page and Twitter (to a more-limited degree), not to mention a process that you’ll use over and over again.

My biggest take-away from the class was the re-discovery of some productivity apps and programs that {now that I better know how to use them effectively} will help me to simplify my blogging!

2. 3in30 Challenge

A decision that has been a few months in the making, I announced this morning on the 3in30 Challenge that I am stepping away from the 3in30 Challenge and handing the reins over to the very capable Aurie Good. Stepping away from the 3in30 Challenge will definitely simplify my life!

3. Summer Blogging Schedule

Starting June 4th, I’ll be entering my summer blogging schedule. Throughout the course of the summer, I will {hopefully} be posting less often in order to get off the computer and get outside with my kids. My plan is to blog three times  a week {most weeks}, and I have a number of guest posters lined up to help!

Homeschool/Family: The Summer Bucket List series will kick off on June 5th {a slight change to the initial plan – I will only be posting one SBL post each week, and I’ll post it on Tuesdays} and will be a weekly post each Tuesday through the end of August.

Faith: We’ll finish up the Finding Freedom series in June, spend July investigating prayer, and dig into Philippians during the month of August.

By posting less often throughout the summer {no worries, a “full” blogging schedule will return in the fall}, I’ll be simplifying my blogging and my life!

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Join me in Finding Freedom this summer – freedom from perfection, control issues, and the tendency to listen to talking snakes {i.e. believe the lies of the devil}.

Each Thursday we’ll be looking at three chapters from I Blame Eve, discussing what God is teaching us through what we’ve read and looking for ways to apply our learning to our lives.

Chapter 10: I Have the Eden Gene

“I know it in my gut. You know it in yours. Life was not meant to be like this. Disruptive. Annoying. Devastating. Distracting. Guilt ridden. Fractured. Somewhere, somehow, lingering deep within our gene pool is the knowledge we were originally designed for a chaos-free life… Even though we never stepped foot in Eden, we hunger for it, this place of untainted relationships and perfect provision.” {p. 80}

Even this week, I found myself in moment of hungering for this very thing – relationships that didn’t bear the brokenness of a sin-cursed world. How are you feeling the pull of Eden on your heart this week?

“Most of us, when faced with trials and heartaches, do not want to learn powerful life lessons. Nope. We want out. We want to escape.” {p. 81}

Don’t I know it! I once told my brother {a youth pastor} that I wanted to see lots of spiritual growth in my life but that I didn’t want to have to do the actually growing, because it can be so painful. He just laughed at me, because we both know that life doesn’t work that way. It’s through the trials and heartaches that we find ourselves in a place where we are willing to yield to the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

Chapter 11: I Am Exactly Like Eve

“I realized that left to my own plans and devices I would destroy myself and everything good and right in my life.” {p. 87}

This is how I know that grace exists… I would have destroyed my life years ago {and many times since} but for the grace of God!

“Even today, though I am trying to live my life for the glory of the Creator, I still have to make a choice to yield to the One who is actually in control… We can say that Jesus is the Lord of our lives, but unless we invite him to weigh in on our daily doings, aren’t we lying to ourselves?” {p. 88-89}

It’s a daily submission of our will – and a constant invitation throughout each day.

Chapter 12: I Am a Perfectionist

{I could write an entire series on this chapter alone – seriously, this chapter spoke VOLUMES to my heart – so I’m just going to leave you with the quotes that challenged me the most.}

“There is nothing wrong with wanting to excel in all areas of our lives and bring honor to God with all he has blessed us with, but when we tell ourselves that we have to be perfect to be happy or content, we will never be happy or content.” {p. 93}

“Striving for perfection only leads to maintaining a cheap façade that quickly comes crashing down under the weight of reality.” {p. 93}

“Achieving perfection is an impossibility in our lives. The sooner we let ourselves off the hook and realize there is only one Jesus, the better.” {p. 94}

“If we make knowing him our goal, everything else will fall into place.” {p. 95}

“When we try to be perfect, we are focusing all our attention on ourselves, our wants, needs, and desires. When Jesus floods our lives with his grace, he is saying, ‘Keep looking at me. Keep listening for me. Keep following me. Make me your primary concern, and I will take care of the rest’.” {p. 95}

Your Turn

What stood out to you this week as you read? What light did God illumine your heart with, challenging you to grow in your knowledge of Him?

Share your thoughts with us – you can blog about it {and share the link in the comments} or simply comment below.

Life is not meant to be done on your own – when we do LIFE together, we grow together as we encourage and challenge one another on the journey!
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I love to use a devotion to kick start my time with Jesus. When I don’t know what to say, a short devotion will help me find a topic I need to discuss with Jesus.

Today is Your Best Day is my new favorite choice because it helps me focus on what is true regardless of my current circumstances. Roy Lessin has a calming, gentle way of presenting our spiritual reality and reminds me it trumps every physical, monetary, and relational problem I might have at the time.

In the chapter, Because of Jesus’ Name, Lessin offers a long list of the names of Jesus with a short explanation of what each means to us. “Our High Priest: He is praying for you and standing before God on your behalf” met me at the heart of my need this week.

I believe one of my purposes here on earth is to be an intercessor. Lately, I’ve been at a loss for words to pray for others and experiencing intercession as a heavy weight on my shoulders. But this one line brought that to an end.

In my mind’s eye, I saw Jesus standing before God interceding perfectly. He didn’t appear to need my help to get the job done. He and the Father are master communicators. But I realized that I am invited into that room to stand by Jesus and learn from Him, apprentice Him.

What a great reminder that I am not responsible to remind Jesus to pray for someone. He’s at work letting me in on the need and asking me to work for and with him. He is Lord. He’s in charge. And I am breathing a sigh of relief.

The enemy of our souls seeks to steal the truth from us. I’m so grateful that Roy Lessin has been used in God’s army to hold up this truth to me this week. My mind is renewed and relaxed.  Today I have a new understanding of Mark 11:28-30:

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart,
and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Today is my best day because Jesus intercedes for me perfectly and invites me to join Him while He intercedes perfectly for others.

Jennifer White is happy to be David’s wife. They are celebrating 14 years of marriage this month and is the very proud stepmother of Lance and Deanna White. She manages the marketing and publicity department of New Leaf Publishing Group loves to inspire others to experience God’s incredible love as He reveals it. Find more by her at her blog, Inspired and Sharing It.

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Read all the post in this series: Today is Your Best Day on LIFE by Ashley Pichea.

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Today I’m participating in the Ultimate Blog Swap. You’ll find me posting over at Warrior Mama about Praying without Ceasing, and I’m excited to welcome Dominique to LIFE by Ashley Pichea.

The One Year Fun & Active Devotions for Kids is a book which I bought to try out with the kids. I’ve been wanting to do more with the kids to build up their knowledge about GOD and be familiar with the bible.

I wanted something which could cater to both my boys who are 5 and 8 years old.

My aim is to get them to learn about God and what is really important, a little by little each day. Even though we may not be able to carry out the activities on a daily basis but to do it weekly or bi-weekly would be a great start.

One Year Fun & Active Devotions for Kid has 365 devotions which one can do with their kids. Questions are followed by answers that are supported by Bible verses. Themes of the devotions include God, the Bible, right from wrong, Heaven and angels, money matters, the world, prayer, friends and school.

I would flip the book open to the day’s date and read through the page before deciding whether to attempt the activities with the boys.

Example: March 21- How do I trust God for Money?
Related Bible verse – “Don’t be troubled. You trust God, now trust in me.” John 14:1.

There is a short explanation about trusting job which I would read out to the kids before doing the suggested activity.

I altered the activity a bit to vary it for my kids to make it easier for them to understand the focus by using daily life examples which they can relate to. I gave them some dollar bills and coins and made them explain to me how they could use the money and what they decided on it. I also explained to them that GOD does give us the tools to provide for ourselves and by placing our trust in him we will be able to find a way to survive financially.

I personally find this book extremely good as it not only gives kids but parents too bite size information about how the teachings of the bible can be incorporated into daily life.

It really helps me bring learning of scripture down to the kids level of understanding and get them more interested in learning more about Christianity.

Dominique Goh is a Singaporean elementary school teacher, freelance writer and mom of three who is passionate about parenting and educating kids. In her free time you can see her dabbling in photography, cooking and cake decorating and blogging at Dominique’s Desk.

Visit Life Your Way to see all of the Ultimate Blog Swap participants!

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Yesterday, I really didn’t want to go to church.

I was tired, my kids had been anything but pleasant most of the weekend, at least 3 of my close friends from church weren’t going to be there, and I really would have rather just stayed home.

{image from Google maps}

As I pulled into the parking lot, I recognized the disgruntled spirit I had, and I prayed something along the lines of…

God, You know I don’t want to be here today. But I’m here. Please bless my obedience and make me glad I came.

I parked, sent the kids to their Sunday school classes, and sat in the library waiting for the rest of my Sunday school class to arrive. As I sat there, I became aware of two (unrelated) things that made me annoyed (on the verge of upset). Then, I was informed that our SS class had been cancelled the night before, but since I’ve been gone so much lately, I had been overlooked in receiving a phone call as the teacher probably assumed I wasn’t going to be there anyway. At that point, all the other SS classes had started, so I decided to just sit and play Bejeweled Blitz on my iPad and chat with others who were wandering around the church in lieu of going to SS.

After SS, I picked the kids up for the morning worship serve. (Jenny attends the full service unless there is children’s church, and David likes to come in for the singing when I’m not up front helping to lead it.) Within two songs, I had David back in his classroom as he wouldn’t listen and obey. Jenny and I made it through the rest of the service without too many issues (beyond the normal “sit still and listen” reminders a 5yo needs). The sermon was “OK” but nothing life-altering – the major take-away was a potential new “prayer project” for our church. Basically if I hadn’t gone to church yesterday, I wouldn’t have missed much.

If I’m honest, I left church wonder why’d I’d even bother coming in the first place.

I wasn’t involved in serving yesterday, and I didn’t “gain” anything by being there – so what was the point?

As I thought about it and prayed on it, God reminded me that it isn’t about me. The point was that we are commanded to gather together with other believers – whether or not we “feel” like it and/or perceive a personal benefit from having done so.

Though my obedience to go may not have produced any tangible “instant” blessing, I am blessed simply by knowing that I am walking in obedience, even if it doesn’t make sense to me.

Obedience is rarely about me – it’s always about bringing God glory!

In what way(s) have you obeyed recently with “nothing to show for it?”

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Counting My Gifts: #291-315

family – a niece’s 1st birthday

benadryl

free food for my fridge

McDonald’s drive thru

calm reaction by J when a paintball was thrown at our van

attic storage space

a comfortable vehicle (we’ve spent a lot of time on the road in the past few months)

flexibility in resources

respect among the leadership of our church

a productive meeting at church

inspiration for our church’s backyard Bible club curriculum

sunshine and warm temperatures

an obedient spirit in spite of my disgruntled will

“unplugged” weekends

watching movies with J

a “slower” summer schedule (I hope)

Content Brew class

central air conditioning

ceiling fans

Kindle app on my iPad

good books to read (and lots of freebies on Kindle)

time to sit and read

safety in travels

guest posts pouring in for the Summer Bucket List series coming soon

a new 31 Days to Pray for Your Spouse challenge starting in two weeks

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From the Publisher:

They’re from two different worlds. Can love cross the divide?

Moved by a compassionate heart and the desire for adventure, twenty-year-old Shiloh Wainwright impulsively accepts a teaching position at the White River Indian Agency in northwestern Colorado. Eager to use her skills to help improve the lives of Ute Indian children, she looks forward to a fulfilling, independent life on the Colorado frontier.

But her new job isn’t what she imagined it would be, and Shiloh soon finds herself caught in the cross fire between the Utes, their unyielding Indian agent, and a demanding US government. Her unexpected encounter with a half-Ute childhood friend, Jesse Blackwater, only complicates matters as they battle their growing feelings for each other amidst spiraling tensions that threaten to explode into a catastrophic uprising.

Set amongst the wilds of the Colorado Rockies in 1879, this tale from bestselling and award-winning author Kathleen Morgan explores the transformational power of forgiveness, compassion, and God’s healing love with artistry and authenticity.

My Thoughts:

I really enjoyed reading A Love Forbidden!

Kathleen Morgan developed a great storyline full of sub-conflicts and resolutions that were all tied together into one main conflict and resolution. It made A Love Forbidden a page turner!

Not only did the story move at a great pace, but the characters, the conflicts, and the resolutions were all incredibly believable – something I’ve found missing in a number of books I’ve read lately. Even the faith of the characters seemed authentic and the mentions of it were not “forced” or awkward in the storyline.

Beyond the story, the setting of A Love Forbidden was interesting and eye-opening.

I give A Love Forbidden five stars!

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Disclosure: I was provided with a free copy of A Love Forbidden in exchange for my honest review.

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So, I’m a little bit excited to share some news with you today…

The 31 Days to Pray for Your Spouse Challenge starts JUNE 4!!!!

Do you have about 5 minutes a day to spend praying for your spouse? Did you know that doing so each day over the course of 31 days can improve your marriage?!? Join us as we access the power of prayer to build up our spouses and change our marriages for the glory of God!

Sign up TODAY:

1. Get a copy of the eBook: 31 Days to Build a Better Spouse

2. Fill out the registration form:

3. Tell your friends!!

Share it on Facebook

Pin It

Tweet It

What are you waiting for?? Sign up TODAY!!

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Join me in Finding Freedom this summer – freedom from perfection, control issues, and the tendency to listen to talking snakes {i.e. believe the lies of the devil}.

Each Thursday we’ll be looking at three chapters from I Blame Eve, discussing what God is teaching us through what we’ve read and looking for ways to apply our learning to our lives.

Chapter 7: I Would Rather Not Take Responsibility for My Actions

“Blaming other people for things I’ve done seems much easier than owning up to the fat that I slipped up. I really don’t enjoy taking responsibility for my actions… We don’t want to own up to our sins because we don’t want to deal with the punishment afterward.” {p. 62, 64}

When is the last time you had to own up to your sins?

I admitted on Monday that I’ve been living in sin – I haven’t been submitting to my husband in a biblical manner. God was gracious to point it out to me, and I had to come clean of my sinful state.

“Even if we don’t own up to our wrongdoing, we will still have to deal with the consequences of our actions. One way or another our souls bend and twist under the weight of what we’ve done. We may be able to keep our mouths shut, but our lives will shout out the results of the choices we have made.” {p. 65}

Have you found what Paul says, that you reap what you sow, to be true in your life?

Nothing is worse than living with guilt. When you confess, you find freedom and forgiveness!

“Our confession allows God to do what he does best. Forgive us.” {p. 66}

When John says that God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, does it change the way you view God?

Chapter 8: I Have at Least One Enemy

“In the presence of God, the devil has no power. You have just given him more power in your minds than he deserves.” {p. 70}

On a scale of one to ten, how much power have you given him in your life?

This is an area I’ve never really considered before… intellectually, I know that Satan’s only source of power is that which God allows him to have. Practically, though, I’m not sure if I live that way.

“If we stand on our own against the enemy of our soul, like Eve did in the garden, we can expect shaky results at best. But if we invite God into those weak and sin-darkened areas of our lives where the enemy does his dirty work, all the enemy can do is run.” {p. 70}

We’re not supposed to turn and run from the devil – we’re supposed to stand firm, covered by the blood of Jesus and dressed with the armor of God.

“No matter what the battle or struggle you are facing, fast and furious, slow and monotonous, he’s got you and he always wins.” {p. 71}

How does your thinking shift when you realize that the battle against the snake has already been fought and won?

Chapter 9: I Feel Really Sad That There Is Pain in Childbirth

“When we realize there are no easy solutions to real living, we try to anesthetize ourselves. We try to fashion a life with the least amount of pain… With all the pain and brokenness of this life, we have the audacity to think we can fix ourselves. We turn ourselves inside out looking for peace, for deliverance, for clarity, when as far as I can tell, we don’t have a whole lot of peace, deliverance, or clarity on hand.” {p. 75, 76}

What do you use to try and “fix” yourself?

“There is only one person who can fix the brokenness in us, and the at is the One who knit us together in our mother’s belly in the first place, the One who knows our every thought and calls us his own. He can bring peace into our lives and clarity into our minds. We have to rely on the Healer to mend our brokenness.” {p. 76}

Have you invited the One who formed you to heal those broken places in your life?

Your Turn

What stood out to you this week as you read? What light did God illumine your heart with, challenging you to grow in your knowledge of Him?

Share your thoughts with us – you can blog about it {and share the link in the comments} or simply commentbelow.

Life is not meant to be done on your own – when we do LIFE together, we grow together as we encourage and challenge one another on the journey!
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When you think about today, are you thinking about your plan for the day? Or do you have the bigger picture of God’s plan in mind?

Today is Your Best Day: Because of God’s Plan

Roy Lessin reminded me in Today is Your Best Day that God has a plan for me – each and every day.

“It is a plan that will bring Him the greatest glory and make you into all He desires you to be. Today is your best day because God is working out that plan.”

Though Jeremiah 29.11 is often the first verse to come to mind when discussing the plans that God has for us, I find myself recalling Philippians 1.6:

“For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it untilthe day of Christ Jesus.”

You see, it is because God is working out His plan of salvation in my life each and every day through the power of His Holy Spirit that today is my best day.

I might not agree with God’s plan for today, but when I choose to follow Him by faith, I can be sure that His plan is the best plan for my life.

And looking back over the past 28 years of my life, I can see the bigger picture of my life – His plan played out through it all!

Are you trusting God’s plan for your life today?

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Read all the post in this series: Today is Your Best Day on LIFE by Ashley Pichea.

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I’ve mentioned before that we are semi-unschoolers at our house.

What does that mean? That means that while we enjoy worksheets and some structure, we believe that life offers incredible learning opportunities {or “teachable moments”} that often missed when the focus of schooling is on the academics.

So we look for opportunities to apply academic knowledge {or gain it} as we are busy doing life.

Though our yard does not welcome a tree house {we have no trees}, I’m always on the lookout for ideas of ways to turn doing life into learning, so Lessons from the Tree House caught my eye.

Lessons from the Tree House

Author Carol Alexander says,

I’ve been a mom for 24 years, homeschooling for 18, and trying to raise most of our family’s food on our modest acreage for the last 10. In my spare time, I’m a freelance journalist whose credits include regional parenting magazines, national homeschooling and homesteading magazines, our local paper, and several blogs. Currently, I am working on a series of ebooklets for homeschoolers (or involved parents) called Lessons from the Homestead. These booklets each contain at least 50 lessons for math, language, science, and more for all ages using areas of the homestead for study.

Lessons from the Tree House is the third booklet in the Lessons from the Homestead series.

I love the way Carol’s mind works – seeing the learning opportunities that can be found in “play.”

Lessons from the Tree House is a collection of more than 50 learning opportunities (including math, science, language, and more) that can occur when you children take on the challenge of building a tree house.

For example, the Design Phase includes lessons in: math, computer skills, drawing, writing, public speaking, research, and science.

Even as Carol shares the practical lessons of math and science, she points out spiritual applications as well and gives you Scripture references to share with your kids.

What a great little booklet to take summer time fun and turn it into a learning experience!

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Disclosure: I was provided with a free copy of Lessons from the Tree House in exchange for my honest review.

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