Joyfull Living

After my last post from Sunday,I went to the couch for some lazy Sunday afternoon reading. The magazine I read was Home Life and it had an article of devotions to do with your children during the month. The first week's verse to learn is "And be kind and compassionate to one another" and it also had some great quotes on kindness which I"m going to share: Carve your name on hearts, not on marble - Charles Spurgeon Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see - Mark Twain The last one you have probably heard through an email going around: A college professor added a bonus question to the test: "What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?" Later the professor explains, "In your careers, you will meet many people. All of them are significant. They deserve your attention and care, even if all you do is smile and say hello." I thought is was a good follow up to encourage myself to be kinder to everyone this week...

This is Sunday afternoon at our house. Things are nice and quiet and relaxed and I have a lot rolling around my mind. Last week was quite a week for our family. While we were in the mountains, my husband's grandmother had a severe stroke. The prognosis is not very good. This is a time of anxiousness, fear and sadness for our family. Then over the weekend our niece with her newborn baby boy came to visit and our cousin Steph had a beautiful baby girl yesterday. What a time of joy and thankfulness for two new creations - gifts from God. We are just coming from vacation and about to begin our first new week with our minds on the joys and sorrows of our family. Now is the time when everyone is wanting to "do" something. It helps to feel useful during times like these and it is a huge blessing to the family having people who care near to do needed tasks. The thought came to me of how important it is to love, care and bless those around us EVERY DAY and not just durin...

We just got back from our quick trip to the mountains in North Carolina. Here are a couple of pictures to share. My son took these shots of the mountain side. It wasn't peak season, but there was beautiful color. Here are my three boys hiking along a trail! Here is the whole group of guys, Dad and his three sons!

We are headed to the mountains tomorrow morning! We are all so excited to be going away for a few days. Please pray for safe travels and good, quality family time. Thanks!

I feel like a copycat, but there have been a couple of great quotes I have read recently that have been a great blessing and inspiration to me. Sanctuary is where Peace, Order and Beauty meet. Rachel Anne has a great post on making our homes a place of peace, order and beauty. She offers some practical suggestions on taming the jungle our homes can sometimes become and transforming them into a sanctuary - full of peace, joy, order and love. Many times our lives and home reflect what is overflowing within us. Over at A Wise Woman Builds Her Home there is a quote that spoke to me: "A gentle and quiet spirit is not only imperishable; it is precious in the sight of God. It's also one of the hardest qualities to cultivate. Far from a sign of weakness, a gentle and quiet spirit is the sign of a woman who is strong in faith, mind and character." ---From the book So Much More by Anna Sofia and Elizabeth Botkin It takes discipline to cultivate the most coveted qualities, ...

I hope you'll be blessed by todays Word Filled Wednesday. The purpose of Word filled Wednesday is to share God's word through photo's & a verse! This great idea came from 160 Acre Woods You can go to her site and see a beautiful verse along with others who have linked up to share a picture and verse.

My sons are spaced out in years and maturity, and that brings lots of humor into our life. My youngest is 6 year old, but acts like he is 16, since he is around his brothers so much. He has been making comments like "why do you get to do whatever you want, watch TV, go to bed late, etc. the things he wants to do, but alas, has some restrictions and feels so very deprived. My very original response to these comments has been: "Because I'm the Mom, that's why" . That sums it up doesn't it??!! Well, on our weekend shopping trip, the older boys used their own money to buy a pair of boots. The carefully measured how much they would need and were handling it so well. In a store, my oldest (16) found a shirt he liked and wanted to buy. He asked me if he could get it. I told him he could get it... with his money. That wasn't what he had in mind, and asked me could I please buy it for him? I jokingly asked him why he wanted me to buy it when he had his ...

It seems like I have been neglecting this blog lately! Life is so busy as you all know. Right now it is Saturday morning around 6:30 AM which is usually my day to sleep in....BUT....my middle son has a football game this morning and must be there by 8:00 AM. So, I got up early to prepare for the day. After the game, myself and the three boys will go shopping for some boots they "desperately need". So, it seems that it will be a long day with lots to do. On days like this, it is easy to get short tempered and say words that can be sharp and biting. Especially after looking at 25 pair of boots and not finding the right ones and the youngest is running around in circles through the racks, and there are a million "can we get these too?", "can we eat lunch at a restaurant?" All on my day off which should be full of rest and relaxation! I am reading Proverbs in the Bible each morning and this morning some verses jumped out at me, so I thought that I would...

I have always liked my computer desktop to be "pretty". This is "my space" and living with four males - whenever I can get a "pretty space", I go for it! There are several sites I go to for seasonal wallpapers, but I found one recently that has a monthly theme and also has a Bible verse to go with it. Here is the link to joypals monthly wallpapers for October. You just click on your resolution size of your screen, use the right click button on your mouse and choose "set as desktop background" and you have a beautiful computer screen! My choice was the "Joy In Season" and it has blessed me so much, I"ll have to share in another post!

Today was the Columbus Day holiday from school and work, and I slept late and was enjoying a cup of coffee this morning when my youngest son woke up and came and sat in my lap. Relishing these moments as they are rare, we were snuggling when he looked up and asked me "When I was a baby, in your stomach (pregnancy), did I get to play? I said, "Well you ate and slept and wiggled,". "No" he said "Did I sometimes open the door and go out and get some blocks and come back in and play with them?" Whoa...this was too heavy talk for this early morning time! I realized, we keep this child running so much and he always has something to do, so he couldn't fathom being in utero, with nothing to do! Out of the mouth of babes!

I have seen Wordless Wednesday from many other blogs. Here is one that I will share for today. Over at 160 Acre Woods she shared that the purpose of Word filled Wednesday is to share God's word through photo's & a verse, so I am pleased to share a verse with you all.

After my post yesterday, I found this article today over at crosswalk and thought it was great. I am just going to share some dos for having sweet, pleasant speech for our husbands. Words Your Husband Longs to Hear 1. I’ve been thinking about you all day. 2. What can I do for you today? 3. How can I pray for you today? 4. The best part of my day is when you come home. 5. You are one of God’s most precious gifts to me. 6. You are so wonderful. 7. You look so handsome today. 8. I don’t feel complete without you. 9. I will always love you. 10. I trust your decisions. Today, pick just one of these phrases. Try it out on your husband and watch his eyes light up! When you love your husband well, God says “Well done, my good and faithful servant!” Let’s Pray Dear LORD, thank you for giving me the gift of my husband. Help me to never forget that one of the greatest places of ministry is in the home and ...

If you are striving (or struggling!) to be a godly wife, there is a website you MUST check out. The Generous Wife has a wealth of ideas to encourage wives in their everyday lives to be a blessing and true help meet for their husbands. (I can use all the help I can get!!) There is a place you can receive daily tips and the one today really caught my attention. The main question was "When I talk to my husband what does my voice sound like? Do I sound happy to see him? Do I sound like I like him? :) Or do I sound tired, impatient, or moody? I don't expect to be perfect all the time, but I do want to sound friendly and welcoming most of the time That stuck home with me. I always notice women who in public answer their husbands in that aggravated, annoyed, bossy tone. I think to myself "how rude, etc.", then at home turn around and so quickly do the same thing!! So my project for this week is to have "sweet and pleasant words". There are several ...