Category Archives: Inspirational Join us on the Journey of the Magi–you can start with the Intro HERE and then Day 1 HERE. Day 2 – “They came from the East…” Today we will see in the lives of the Magi the importance of stepping out in faith…even when you feel like you are alone…even when what God is […]  We have: 1. Welcomed home a precious little boy from Ethiopia and watched him meet his forever family at the airport. The Carley’s are in our small group that meets every other week in our home. We’ve gone to church with them for several years–and we’ve watched them wait for 2 years to bring this […] I ran into an old friend the other day at the grocery store–and instead of catching up and sharing how we were doing…she asked me if I was done with my Christmas shopping. You know–your “go to” conversation piece during the holiday…right? Before I could answer, she excitingly told me she was relieved to be […] This is absolutely the most wonderful thing I have ever read! AMEN!!!!! Love this so much! This is my goal every year and then I get caught up in buying way to many presents to show my “love”, which is how I was raised. Beautiful Post Andrea. Thanks for reminding me what I already know. Merry Christmas. It warms my heart to see those words about Christmas. We really try to make Christmas about “giving” to others in need. My 5 yo told his Grandpa that he really needed to earn some money quickly to give to “the Orphans” along with some toys when asked about what he looked forward to this Christmas. It made me smile. PS We made a beautiful Jesse tree by doing mod podge wooden ornaments with your scrapbook paper idea! This is our 1st year to use a Jesse Tree & we love it! thank you. i have been really struggling this year with presents vs. preparing my heart and this most was so beautiful and challenging. AND i am a huge fanilow, so there’s that too. 🙂 Andrea, how is it possible that we have never met …big age difference …but,such similair thoughts . Went for a jog Wednesday and was contemplating everything you just wrote. There is nothing under our tree (doesn’t matter to me at all~I know a few things wil appear)yet,it is so filled with remembrance of days gone by…handmade ornaments,pictures of Trey and Shockley on an angels…such sweetness and the glory of Advent ,being in the Word ,JT time,being with each other,hearing the boys play piano and guitar together….Listening to where they are in connecting Christ with their daily life. Each of us sharing …hearing SHockley share that a classmate needs to get together …the classmate feels he is getting off track(his dad is in Afghanistan)…we prayed for this young man and SHockley will give him the gift of “fiendship”…those are the gifts I like to give ..prayers for friends,praise to God and allowing the Holy Spirit to grace me. Today I have been going through a cedar closet to create another giving away box. I asked Doc about a coat and he said it was one of his favorites on me …I let it go. For a minute it hurts…but, I’ll be smiling big thinking how special someone will fill in it and warm. Girl…you are needing to shout this message today on the mountain tops. Creating with what you have and nice crayons and pencils and “dressup ” closet clothes …there is the magic….it doesn’t need to be too much . I believe it makes children sad. Maybe how we grew up is why we are connected.You are a remarkable person. I believe you just gave each of us reading your blog a GIFT ! Thank you. Girl, you have SO done it! AGAIN!!! I so LOVE your heart and your powerful example of what it is to be a loving Christian momma!!!! You are such a beautiful mentor for me, as I excitedly {and not so patiently} await the arrival of our boyS!!!! I share your heart, though I am not confident in my ability to communicate to our boys this very message…..the true meaning of Christmas!!! Reading this post inspires me. And reminds me that God has this covered. All I have to do is let Him lead me in my parenting! As long as I keep Him the focus ~ at Christmastime and otherwise! ~ on Him, He will help me mother in the way I hope and dream to do!!!! You are such a blessing, Andrea. Not only to your family, but also to your friends and blog family too!!! MERRY CHRISTMAS, DEAR FRIEND!!!! Keep on keeping on!!!! <3  Soooo…she’s 6! She woke up to LOTS of balloons hanging from the ceiling… …Krispy Creme for breakfast (her favorite…creme filled with chocolate on top! And oh my–mommy didn’t even cheat with her new gluten free restrictions!) …Chick-fil-a for lunch and her Slopes bar-b-cue for dinner! All her favorites…complete with a pink cupcake from Gigi’s bakery! […] What a day. Simply beautiful. Hey Andrea, I pray over my kids that my ceiling would be their floor. I want them to be launched into Kingdom stuff! Probably one of the most beautiful managers I’ve ever seen. What a blessing – rejoicing with you. I know the beaming of your heart; the absolute best day when my kiddos accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior and were Baptized – tears of joy and thankfulness. =) Happy Birthday to Laney! Especially loved this post, for many reasons. Praise God for Laney’s love for Jesus and desire to trust God with all her heart! What a day of rejoicing for your family! I hope she enjoyed a very special birthday, too. Thanks for sharing Jesus with all of us… I LOVE this project, just need a little more info….How did you do Mary and Joseph and the manger? Did you do it? Did you tear them from something else? Need me some details here, so we can get started! Blessings to you! Lisa H. Ephesians 2:20-21 “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” “Too many want to jump from one mountain […] Thanks for writing this. I remember the night before I delivered in Annabelle and we were in the hospital, we prayed that whatever situation would play out in the morning (morning would tell us if we had to deliver annabelle or not) that we just wanted the situation to be what would glorify Him most. To this day, I will tell you I have suffered more than with any other thing i’ve gone through since losing Annabelle, just today even I had a VERY hard day BUT I cling to the fact that God chose what gave Him most glory and that was bringing Annabelle home. So I hurt and ache and miss her and wonder all the things I will miss in her life because she is no longer here BUT I also pray and hope for to see how God uses her short little life for His glory and to one day realize all that was done for His glory because of her and I will get to see her again because of the beautiful hope I have in Him! Hi there! I saw your blog, from a friend if mine’s. I just wanted to let you know, I’ll be praying for you!! I really appreciate this blog post! Michelle You have no idea how MUCH I needed to read this today. Our message this morning was quite similar. It was about being thankful – even in suffering. Our pastor read the song in Chronicles that the army sang before going out to meet the enemy… “Give thanks to the Lord for his mercies endure forever.” Then the pastor said, “we can ALWAYS say that. Even if we suffer – God’s mercies endure. If we’re asked to sacrifice for Jesus – his mercies endure.” It was just what my heart needed. I will email you more details soon. But just know that I can relate to this more than you can imagine right now! love you friend!!! Hi Andrea, Hey…I hesitate to comment yet again on your blog…I know you are a popular and busy lady with lots going on…but I just want you to know you encourage me. Today I don’t know how to do the waiting well…yesterday I did…today…I am weak. So thanks for the reminder to keep the faith. It seems I need Faith like an IV drip one day and the next I could hand it out to someone else who needs it. Lately I just keep hoping that everyone/anyone who is affected by our wait in any way will give glory and praise to the Lord because I so badly want that above anything else, even, yes, even having my son and daughter home with me. May He be SO glorified in your illness and in our wait. Amen? Wow, that is very humbling to read. May the Lord continue to bless you and yes, I pray for healing too! To God be the glory in ALL things! Andrea, this post was SO good for me to read! It related so well to my life right now. Thank you for sharing and challenging us! I plan to re-read this again tonight to let the truths sink in. 🙂 |
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by admin
What a fabulous way to help kiddos understand the details of the entire story. We will be doing this with our boys!