We’re very blessed at our church to have some amazing people on staff. One such person is our worship leader, Josh Helms. He’s amazingly gifted with singing and song-writing and recently one of his songs has been nominated for Worship Leader Magazine’s Readers’ Choice Award:
Song DISCovery Independent Song of the Year!
How cool is that?!
I would LOVE if my readers would participate in voting for his song, Jesus in Me and help him win! You don’t have to register for a thing, nor do you have to vote for every category! Just click HERE and it will take you straight to the site. Click on “Jesus in Me” under the first heading and scroll down to click on the word VOTE.
Thanks in advance!
We’re back in town! What a trip it was!
Hit major major fog from Jacksonville through the mountains, discovered a broken brake line at the top of the mountains and had to sit from 3am til 10:30am, waited from then til 4:30pm to get back on the road again after car repairs with tired and cranky kids, missed visits with friends and their new babies, had family drama, dis-and-relocated my daughter’s shoulder, had a horribly ill son and had to seek care, encountered issues with our house still for sale in Ohio, almost hit an eagle, missed church on Sunday, almost hit a poodle, hit rain in the mountains on our return, got car sick on the return, and my skin turned to crap due to stress and just being in the Northern climate!
BUT…
We also got to see family and friends, spend valuable time with our nephews and niece, hug and catch up with our Ohio students, were kept safe by our Father’s guidance, were moved by the music and message at the Thanksgiving Eve service, spent less on car repairs than expected, enjoyed cold weather, went out on a date while using our free childcare (ie: family), saw some snow, went on a fun and festive horse-drawn buggy ride at Dan’s brother’s farm, watched our nephews and niece open their Christmas presents in person, ate some yummy some local food, and wore our warm clothes!
Worth the troubles?
Always is…
“…In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world!”
John 16:33
…and catching up on sleep, laundry, dishes, shopping, and cleaning!
Will give lots of updates on our trip up North as soon as we’re settled back in!
So great to be home!
Today and everyday, I’m thankful for…
God and His Son
My husband
my children
our health
our families and friends
our home and our vehicles
our freedoms
safe travels
sunshine
His protection
inquisitive children
hugs
good food
inspiration
creativity
faith, hope, and love
beauty
rest
…and all of the little moments in life
Thanks be to our Father!
So by the time I post this, I’ll be across the country visiting family and friends for the week. So I decided to write a quick post with some helpful packing tips- mainly for those with little ones who have a lot of “stuff” to keep organized!
Step 1: Make a schedule and make notes as to the dress for each day
Step 2: Lay out outfits in order for each day (I do NOT include socks and underwear for little ones- I put these in a separate area… however I do include coordinating leggings or leg-warmers, etc. that go with that particular outfit)
Step 3: Bag ‘em! Mark on you bags the days of the week BEFORE you put clothes in them just in case your marker punctures through.
Step 4: Throw all underwear and socks in their own bag. And pajamas in another. You COULD put these in each day’s bag but I don’t bring a pair of pajamas for each day- we re-wear them. So this works best for me!
Step 5: Throw those bags in a laundry basket and into the car! Of course you’d have to put them in a duffel bag or suitcase if flying!
Easy peasey way to keep every day’s outfits organized and not worry about losing accessories or remembering which outfit you had planned for which day!
Have a happy and blessed Thanksgiving!
…for a new week.
(photo by elana’s pantry)
Psalm 28:6-7
Praise the Lord! For he has heard my cry for mercy.
The Lord is my strength and shield. I trust in him with all my heart. He helps me, and my heart if filled with joy. I burst out in songs of thanksgiving!
We’re PACKING to go visit family and friends in Ohio next week! Will try to post as I can but no promises! 
Who knew packing clothes for two little ones for a week was so much work! (Well, not to mention for a climate that I’m no longer familiar with!!)
A couple of nights ago my sweet boy took me on a fun adventure.
It was nearing the end of a long day and he asked if he could take his little bug collecting kit outside to find a bug. My first inclination was to say no. But something inside said to just say yes (this is actually a whole other post!)- so out we went in our sweats for a walk around our community on a bug-hunt.
We were pretty unsuccessful at first, only finding fire ants- which I was NOT allowing in the house! So just as I was telling Jace we might have to try again the next morning, my eye caught a little caterpillar on the curb (thank you, God!!). So I carefully picked him up and placed him in Jace’s bug container and we gathered some leaves and grass for the little guy before taking him home.
I explained to Jace that our new friend would not live with us forever but rather just “spend the night” so that he could go back to his family the next day. He was fine with this and looked forward to his evening with “Hermie”.
So we took him inside and the kids had a blast- they taught him the ABCs, numbers, and states, sang for him, danced for him, ate dinner with him at the table, and even read the Bible to him.
At one point Jace thought he looked sleepy but then decided he was sad because he missed his family. So he asked me if we could take him back home tonight so he could be with his family. Of course I said we could if he was sure and Jace agreed. So shoes went back on and we walked little Hermie back in the dark to where we found him and let him go. Prayers were said by an innocent 3 year old that his new friend would remember where his family and friends were and that maybe we could still see him sometimes. And boy do I know that Jesus smiled at my sweet boy.
Every day God reveals more about the hearts of my children and I realize how blessed I am. These kids amaze me with their sacrificial love- a lesson that even their mom needs to hear again and again. My prayer is that they never lose that…
This week’s project was actually one I did back in August for the hubs’ ministry- he’s a High School Pastor for those who may not know. They have a large portable that they use for the high schoolers and it had seen better days when we arrived. We were blessed enough to be granted permission for some new carpet and new paint- so others took care of that for us, and then I helped by adding some little decorative touches- CHEAP AND EASY- just my style!!
(Forgive the poor pictures- these were taken with my old camera!)
We laminated photos of the students and cut circles out of them. Then I hot-glued them, various sized round mirrors, and various sized circles I found at the craft store (for cross stitch, I think??) all straight on the wall! Made two columns- one on each side of the ministry name. Can’t get much easier than that! And it makes a bold statement when you walk in!
