Joyfull Living

Being the mother of three sons, I am not very familiar with today's teenage girls. It has been a long time since I was a teenage girl, but I can easily recall the feelings and emotions of a girl always seeking to measure up, the power of peer pressure, the uncertainty of teenage boys and always seeking to be liked and hoping to be beautiful. Jenna Lucado is the author of the book Refining Beautiful and when the opportunity arose to preview this book, I jumped on it. As the mother of teenage boys, it concerns me the influences that surround teenage girls today. Many of the actions, attitudes, dress and speech that are influencing them is in complete opposition to what the Bible calls women to be. Purity, self control, virtuous and gracious living are not the common lingo for today's teenage girl. Girls are bombarded with messages to be absorbed in themselves and their desires, aggressive and bold and to chase the constantly changing trends to be beautiful. As I read this boo...

Today is Word Filled Wednesday where God's Word is shared through picture and verse. And this is His commandment, that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another as He gave us commandment. John 3:23 I love simple and direct actions that are clear to understand. When too many details are given I tend to get lost and begin to question myself, "is this the right way?", etc. When directions seem to overlap each other, it can cause confusion. It has been said that our Christian walk can be molded after two things: To love the Lord our God with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength and to love one another. That covers everything and leaves little room for the "but what it" questions. We know the power of God's Word and His commandments. If He said it, it will stand forever. He commanded us to believe on the name of Jesus - there is no other name above His and to love one another - at all times- period! Pretty simple huh...

I'm excited to get this new week started off with a great discussion over At the Well! The discussion centers around Happiness and Joy and the question is: Why do you think it is important to experience joy, happiness, and contentment as a Christian?How can you create a home filled with laughter and joy? Many times the Christian life is portrayed as a life of strict, staunch people grudgingly following their Lord. Perhaps that conclusion is brought about by the call to live soberly and righteously. We are called to be people who live a purposeful life - to glorify God and to love one another. God's Word encourages us to be diligent, hard working, focused, faithful and committed, but not dull, deary and void of joy. The difference in serving with drudgery and serving with joy is when we realize Who we serve. We are called to be a peculiar people living different from the world, submissive to our Lord. Our Lord who loves us with an everlasting love. Who watches over ou...

On our recent quick weekend trip, the boys indulged me as I walked the beach, swam the pool and sat watching the ocean waves. Well...they told me to have at it, while they sat in the room watching football!!! But as I have learned, boys must have some kind of action in all that they do. So on the way home, we made one more stop: The Alligator Farm: I'll admit, this did nothing to refresh or relax me...but this is what we saw: With a house full of men, there is a lot of give and take! This was the portion of the trip just for the boys!

While browsing for a verse for today, this one grabbed me: "I do not hide Your righteousness in my heart, I speak of Your faithfulness and salvation." So many times I am thankful for the righteousness, faithfulness, salvation and blessings of the Lord, but fail to speak aloud of them. This was a beautiful reminder to me to proclaim and speak through each day His faithfulness. Not to just be thankful in my heart, but speak out loud His blessings. He is faithful!

Last weekend our family took a quick weekend trip. It was fantastic! We enjoyed beautiful sunrises: Romantic walks on the beach: Sand... Being together as a family: Relaxing together... This guy had a blast... sea, surf and fun... Until on the way home, he fell ill. Trip to the doctor the next day brought the diagnosis of the flu and knocked him out flat: But as only a child can do, he is quickly bouncing back to health! Another day of liquids, rest and tv time and he will be good as new. I am very thankful for a quick illness with no complications. Thank you, Lord for all of your blessings!

"When Motherhood Is Stressful " is the topic in which all women - mothers or not, can relate! The discussion centers around what stresses we face and what we can do about them. In our home, we strive to keep things calm and peaceful which helps things run smoothly. We have learned through the years to adapt to my husband who works different shifts. Many times he is at work when things come up - holidays, family gatherings and other meaningful events. Several events recently occurred where our kids needed to be somewhere EARLY in the morning and...he was at work! Part of our family stress can come from this, but since this is the reality of our situation, we must deal with it. Many times I must prepare myself to go alone, or be the one who has to do the job. I can stress over it, but it still must be done! Learning to anticipate zones where stress is about to overwhelm me, helps me be prepared to face the situation calmly. At night, I get tired and little things seem t...

This deal is too good not to share! Publix has a deli dinner on sale this week: A rotisserie chicken or an 8 piece fried chicken dinner with 2 16 oz side dishes and a pack of rollsis on sale for $8.99. That is a great deal, but... HERE is a coupon for $3.00 off this meal!! Our local Publix accepts competitors coupons. You might want to make sure your local Publix also accepts competitor coupons.

A few posts ago, I shared some tips I found on avoiding the flu this season. Recently I found a flu shopping checklist which was a great resource to have. Hopefully we will never need it, but if the flu strikes at your home, having these items on hand before, will be a huge help. Sickness never happens at a "good" time. Usually it involves running to the store, having to leave a sick child or feeling bad yourself, or sending someone who does not know exactly what you need! This list provides items that can easily be picked up on your next shopping trip and can make things much easier if sickness occurs. Flu Shopping List

"Be filled with the Spirit, speaking to yourselves in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs." God's Word tells us when we accept the Lord's gift of salvation, His Holy Spirit lives within us and guides us, teaches us, directs us and puts God's love in our hearts. The work of the Holy Spirit is so precious and so powerful...and is God's gift given freely to us! When I reflect on the fact that everything I need to live a Christian life is within me through the Holy Spirit, this verse rings true and overflows in songs of joy! May your Word Filled Wednesday spring songs of joy and praise from your heart into those around you today!

This time of year is commonly known as flu season. This year we are well aware of the added danger of the Swine Flu (H1N1). School is back in session and although the panic mode is not where we need to be, a prepared stance is recommended. The first line of defense is to be prepared: 1. Wash your hands, wash your hands, wash your hands . This is the best way to avoid the flu. Also, avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth, which can introduce the virus into your receptive passageways. If you cough or sneeze, use a tissue and throw the tissue away afterwards. 2. Give your immune system a boost. Eat immune boosting foods. Here are a few good ones: Citrus Loaded with Vitamin C, citrus fruits are a yummy, easy way to support your immune system. Grab a glass of OJ, or make some lemonade. Even better, mix lots of lemons into clean water with stevia (a natural sweetener) and cayenne pepper. Not only is it a zingy tasty treat filled with Vitamin C, it also alkalinizes your body, which he...

Today At the Well, the discussion is about the Titus 2 Woman - with a spin! With the world of Technology growing by leaps and bounds, a majority of our communication takes place via email, blogging, twittering, facebooking etc... How can we make sure that we are living out Titus 2 in the cyber world so that the Word of God is not disgraced? How do we keep a balance between grace and hard truth? Women love to feel connected with one another. By nature, we love to share, compare, model after and just have fun with our friends. Women are a very important part of each other's lives. A Christian woman has some special instructions in God's Word on how to relate to other women: "the older women likewise, that they be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not given to much wine.teachers of good things— that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God ...

Last week we took a peek inside the home of Family 1 on a typical Sunday morning. Today we will go to the home of Family 2: "I've got my Bible", the young boy cried; his voice so filled with glee. "And I've packed the diaper bag," his sister chimed, "Does anyone else need me?" "Yeah - cinnamon rolls!" the toddler cried, dressed in his Sunday best. The family joined hands and blessed the food, inviting Christ to be their guest. Each put on their clothes and gathered their things while from the CD player Arose songs of praise and thanksgiving and choruses filled with prayer. Soon out the door and on their way, they talked of the service to come, the fellowship, the new truths of God - oh, how they longed for some! When church was done, a new family they met and invited them home to eat. No fear of returning to a messy house did they have when approaching their street. They opened the door and from the kitchen came a most glorious smel...

One of the surest ways to be at a healthy weight and lifestyle is to balance the scale of eating vs activity. Of course you want the tip the scale towards activity, meaning everything that is eaten will be used for energy and if there is extra, it will burn up some of the extra fat in the body. The body's metabolism is the motor that runs all day to keep the calories burning. A sluggish metabolism means the body is not utilizing all the consumed calories, but an active metabolism uses the calories and then begins to burn fat more effectively. Here are a few tips to keep the metabolism high and keeping the body busy and productive: 1. Get some sunlight: Catching some morning sunlight rays helps regulate your body's internal clock so that you will have more energy during the day and sleep better at night. Sunlight is also a great source of Vitamin D which is good for the metabolism. Use caution though and limit the exposure to sun to a few minutes a day. 2. Eat a good break...

It is such a comfort and blessing to me that God does not see me as man sees me through the outward appearance. He doesn't care if I am wearing the right clothes or have the right make up on or am in a good or bad mood, the Lord looks upon the heart. Truly this is "the heart of the matter". What our hearts are filled with becomes evident in our words, actions and attitudes. God can see past the outward look we can put on, and see past to our deepest need, desire and longings. He can see the good, the bad and the ugly. There is nothing hidden from Him. He doesn't just see us, but there is a work that only He can do in our hearts. He can take the undesirable weeds that may have planted in our hearts, pluck them out and fill our hearts with His goodness. He can pluck out weeds of discontentment, bitterness, jealousy, criticism and any other ugly weeds which may find it's way into the heart. He alone can replace the ugly weeds with the beauty of His fruit - love, joy,...

Do you ever get sidetracked? Have you ever gotten started on a task and somehow your attention got diverted and you found yourself spending way too much time on another thing, way off course of your original destination? This happens to me quite often! I just finished reading a wonderful book by Elizabeth George: "Life Management For Busy Women ~ Living Out God's Plan with Passion and Purpose" . This book did more than give fantastic time management training, it established the roots and purposes of how and why we do what we do as busy women. Our ultimate purpose is to glorify God with our lives and follow and seek Him for each relationship and ministry we are involved in. A woman in today's times is pulled in so many different directions. There simply is not time to be effective in every area if we don't set priorities. We will be scattered, beaten, harried and a bundle of disorganization. But a woman who seek the Lord in all ways, has a planned and pu...

School started a couple of weeks ago, and is going great for each of the boys. Here are a few pictures of their "first day." The youngest son laid his clothes and supplies out the night before. Yeah, an organized son !!! Our oldest began college and had to leave really early!! They just don't enjoy "first day of school" pictures, but I cannot break tradition after so many years! Here we are...this is it...he is ready! I enjoyed a little new found freedom and browsed my favorite thrift shop: Here are a few bargains I found: I found a book, photo frame, two fall decorations, two brand new shirts with the tags on them and this beautiful plate: School routines are in place, fall is in the air and we are blessed!