You Are Already Amazing... a DaySpring review

Sometimes you can judge a book from its cover... 

or at least in the mind of an 8 year-old.  

It was Ellen who opened the box with the latest book for me to review inside, and it was Ellen who said, "I like this book!"  without having read a single word.  

Sometimes you get pulled into a book from its cover and its title.

...and, sometimes, you open that book with it's engaging title

 and amazing cover,

 and you realize you are sitting with a friend over a cup of coffee.

Holley Gerth is that friend, and You Are Already Amazing is that book.


With sweet words and deep understanding, Holley addresses the issue most of us women face... a hard time accepting that we truly are amazing.  We tend to see ourselves as less than someone else through comparing ourselves to others and who we think they are.  We often see ourselves as less than them as we change diapers, clean toilets, and tackle the endless mountain of laundry facing us.


Not only does Holley tell us that we are amazing because of Who created us, she reminds us that He has an unique plan for each of us.  We are not called to be anything other than what He has equipped us to be.


Using her experience as a personal coach, Holley gives thought provoking questions to help each of us understand our strengths, weaknesses, and our unique gifts.  Understanding who we are is the key to discovering what makes us amazing.


At the end of her book, Holley has also included discussion questions for individuals and groups to study deeper... to go a little further.


Sometimes you realize that there is some wisdom in an 8 year-olds words, when she says "I like this book!"


You Are Already Amazing is available through major retailers or through DaySpring, as well as an entire new collection of coordinating gifts.


***disclaimer... I received this free book through my affiliation with DaySpring, I received no other compensation.

with a side of light cream...

Yep... it's my second post today.  Mostly 'cuz I have a lot of random thoughts swirling above and it's Tuesday... which means it's {virtual coffee} with Amy!!  So here's a much lighter post than the last few... lighter is better!


So... let's chat over some coffee or tea on this beautiful Tuesday.  Mine's iced with maple syrup and a little milk... ran out of half and half yesterday.  What I wouldn't do for a little cream this morning.... mmmm... 


Yes, you read that right.  Maple syrup in my coffee.  I think it's my new love.  I wouldn't have tried it though, if I hadn't given up coffee creamer.  I had a serious love affair with coffee creamer... after weeks and weeks of migraines and severe headaches, though, I started to take inventory of what I was consuming.  Over the past 10 years, I have slowly {read at at snail's pace... obviously, since this has been in the works for a decade, huh?} changed my eating habits.  So, anymore, there really isn't much that isn't good for me... except coffee creamer.  So, on a whim Saturday, I poured my java down the drain, gave away the remainder of my coffee creamer, and poured myself a new cup with maple syrup... OH YEAH!  I'm in love again... I may need to find something a little less expensive though....


Speaking of maple syrup, we didn't tap our trees this year because they started to bud early.  Amazingly, we were all kind of bummed, until my friend, Angie, called and said they had more sap than they knew what to do with and would I like some?  Yes ma'am!  So, Ellen and I trekked sap home and in the end got over a gallon of syrup!!

Maple syrup and my screen door, those are the things that make me think spring.  Sunday my screen door came back!  LOVE!!  Isn't he a great guy?   The really funny thing... see that hair?  About an hour after I took this picture, it was all gone.  He's back to a shaved head... another sign of warmer weather.


'k... just have to say... I don't like DST!!  Why is it we have to go back to being dark when I take Emme to school?  I just want to come home and crawl right back under the covers... yesterday, I did! ; )


Speaking of kids, the mancub goes back to the doctor today.  The boy's a little concerned.  He cannot extend his arm... not because of pain, because it won't go there.  So, we'll see what the one with more knowledge than us has to say.  So far, though, it hasn't slowed him down much.  He was playing back yard football yesterday... just catch and release but for him, it's better than nothing.


I really wish we were sitting across from one another today.  I'm having a hard time getting motivated to do anything.  Mostly I want to find a hands-on book {as opposed to ebook}, a blanket and head outside!  Since we haven't started school in these parts yet... it was a beautiful morning delay... maybe we'll take school outside the walls of this house.


So... what would you tell me if we were really playing hooky from school over coffee?  What's going on in your neck of the woods?


Join in!

joy in a bag... it's what you do with your heavy heart

Leave it up to God to show me what to do with a heavy heart...

It's hard to function efficiently with a heart that is weighty.  Do a little laundry, pray.  Dishes, pray.  Make flashcards and giggle with the girl, pray.  I felt like I accomplished little in the day.  In the end, we fed one extra, helped a little, prayed some more.  


Until evening... and a quiet house... and this idea...

Sometimes spontaneity calls for adaptation.  I didn't have a pretty box, nor a lovely basket.  I do, though, have a local Christian bookstore that carries my favorite book as well as Dayspring cards, bags, and journals.

I am not gifted in the art of fancy gifts and packages.  In fact, I kinda stink at the whole wrapping a present thing.  


I truly think there are times when angels intervene and do it for me because those are the times I sit back and think.... Shazam!

Sometimes the way to loose heart weight is to give it away.  It changes nothing of the heavy circumstance... and, yet, sometimes it changes everything.  Sometimes knowing you are not alone in this world is enough to see you through one more day.  

I think I should have fixed the tissue before
I left this at her front door, huh?

Tissue and bag... a little
Book and journal... a little more
Joy in a bag... priceless!


and my heavy heart... a few pounds lighter.

when you can do nothing but count...

wide awake with a heavy <3.

This was my facebook status last night at 1 a.m.   Nine hours later, I'm sleepy with a heavy heart.

There are times in life when it seems like nothing makes sense or everything falls apart.  There are seasons when my heart screams... tell me, once again, who I am to You... because I can't feel it, hear it, see it, taste it or know it in my heart of hearts right now.

Sometimes the storm blows right through my world and turns everything upside down and inside out.  Mostly though, the storm is someone close.  Close enough for me to hear their wind howl... to see flying debris... to feel the pounding rain.  Close enough to hear enough, see enough, feel enough to send me to my knees.

Last week, my sister posted this and it hurt my heart... hurt not because I was in this storm but because this storm was felt by those I love... I prayed for my sister and her family... especially my two nephews who I'm particularly fond of.   

This morning, as I drove home from taking Emme to school, I was reminded of that family.  A family torn... forever changed... living a new reality that they didn't choose.  My soul had forgotten... I suffer deeply from soul amnesia.  I wish I had remembered to pray for them every single minute of every day.  I hate forgetting!

Last night, wide awake with a heavy heart brought a new circumstance to pray about.  One much closer to home.  Friends, seemingly in a spiritual battle, the likes of which I have never fought.  I prayed, we prayed, I prayed again.  

Much prayer and yet the heavy heart remained.  Heavy and restless.  Wide awake in the middle of the night.  Until...

Be anxious for nothing, 

but in everything by prayer and supplication 

with thanksgiving 

let your requests be made known to God.  

And the peace of God, 

which surpasses all comprehension, 

will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:6-7 (NASB)

He, the One True God, brought these verses to mind.  I prayed them for my friends, for myself, for my family and I counted... until sleep came.

And, though, I woke still with a heavy heart for the battle, my heart is not without hope because I know the end of the story...

I know Who wins.

~*~

Counting with the gratitude community at Ann's... join in!

For these, and so much more, I am grateful to the Grace Giver...

... for the returning sound of the spring peepers

... for early morning rain

... for the way He renews even the earth

... for a quiet Sunday morning with the not so little one

... for quick healing

... for a beautiful day for a bike ride

... for a man who put my screen door back on 

... for great deals on jeans and boots

... for the patience they have learned in waiting for what they want

... for the encouragement of friends

... for laughter, the best medicine for heart issues

... for hearing laughter in my own home

... f0r the privilege to pray

... for the heavy heart that drives me to bow before the Throne

... for family movie nights and lessons learned

... for a slow to heal elbow and a boy who is learning some great life lessons

... for the glimpses of maturity

... for the way he senses my pain and prays with me

... for a relationship that withstands heavy wind sometimes

... for forgiveness

walking a fine line...

It's a fine line... 

a short step... 

a faint edge...

 between wonder and worry... 

trust me, I cross it often

first I wonder...

...what will it be like?

...what will happen?

...what if?

and before I know it...

I worry...

...what will it be like?

...what will happen?

...what if?

He woes...

..."why worry?

what does that do for you?

don't you know I've got you?

and I say...

...but, God...

do You see...?

do You know...?

do You care...?

and He replies...

...ah, child...

who cares about the wildflowers?

who cares about the birds?

who knows where the mountain goat gives birth?

I DO! 

...and yet even more

I care for you!

I see!

I know!

I care!

You may wonder, 

don't worry...

do not cross that line,

take that step,

push that edge...

trust Me, instead.

when a "no, thank you" changes everything

"But, God, this is HUGE..."

"But, God, what will they think?"

"But, God, I'm only a mom from Indiana..."

"Obey"

This is the true-life struggle my heart faced over the past 2 weeks.  Suffice it to say, there was a lot of "...but, God..." going on in this heart of mine.  

My God was calling me to seriously step out of my comfort zone... like, step-into-the-Jordan-River-and-watch-Me-work... type of stepping out.   The classic self-will vs. obedience battle raged fierce and hot in my heart.  I'm not a daring type of girl.

Finally, I surrendered (isn't that what life is all about, anyway?).  Sunday, I obeyed.  I sent an email (yes... this battle was over a simple email) and put myself out there.  I asked for a huge thing.  

Guess what?

Nothing changed.  I did receive a very pleasant "no, thank you" reply.   Actually, it was the nicest, kindest, most gracious negative response EVER.   Still... nothing changed.

My today looks just like my Sunday did.... just like my last Friday did.  Book sales are stagnant, my house looks like a perpetual whirlwind, and there is STILL laundry on the floor of the laundry room (I thought I did laundry all day yesterday...).   My life today looks the same....

... but...

... my heart doesn't.  I realized last night that though on the outside everything appears the same, the inside is radically different.  Obedience and stepping out in faith has changed my heart... my attitude... my outlook for the future.

I feel, as though, God has parted the Jordan River of my heart and has shown me... again... that His way is good and kind and gracious.... that He loves me and has a plan for me... my role is to be one of simple obedience...

...nothing more, nothing less, nothing else.

Which means, I need to stop saying "but, God..." and instead say, "Yes, God!"

when answered prayer takes time...

Time is such an elusive concept.  Try as you might,  you cannot nail jello to a tree, nor can you hold on to time.  It oozes in and out and around your fingers, runs down your arms as you try desperately to hold on to it.  And, all that is left is the sticky residue.  

Why is it that I know this about jello, and, 

yet, I fail to remember this about time?  

The greatest question is this... why, when I pray, do I expect the Creator of time, who is indeed timeless, to be bound by this elusive concept I call time?  


He created it when He separated the day from the night.  He owns it.... He owns my time as He is the only One who knows my days.  This my heart knows and recognizes...  

...the part my heart struggles with... 

His time and my time are not the same time.

Yesterday, I sat and watched and listened.  My man, the one who stole my heart 20 years ago or so, stood with a microphone, his Bible and the elements of communion on the table in front of Him.  He read of us, mere mortals, partaking of Christ's body.  He prayed that we would hunger for Him... desire more.  He stood there as a leader of our church, one of five elders who lead the sheep.  


He stood and read and prayed and my heart finally remembered.  My heart that suffers daily from amnesia, had forgotten the time I spent praying for a spiritual leader in our home.  My forgetful heart had forgotten the time on my knees with tears on my face praying that God would intervene... that He would raise up a leader within the walls of the house I call home.  I prayed that their daddy, those who were probably ages 7, 5 and 1, would lead them.


Yesterday, I looked and saw my girl who will soon be thirteen.... I saw her 15 year old older brother... and the 8 year old not-so-little-one.  Time has gone by while my heart has forgotten my prayer.  While the days between those prayers and now have been filled with ball practice, birthdays and family vacations, God was at work.  I couldn't see and I didn't know... the work that was done in the deep and private place of a soul that loves Jesus.

...all that time went by and I thought God had forgotten. 

 I forget, He never does.  

He who created time and created me... He who created my man and the three we call ours... He knew what this mere mortal thought she recognized years ago...


... He knew that NOW is the time for leadership in my home.  Now is the time to take a man cub and make him a man.  Now is the time to model for the one more woman than girl what a godly man looks like.  Now is the time... because time ticks by second by second and soon they will be the man or the woman looking for the godly man.  

Each evening, I sit and watch and listen as the leader of this home takes us through the Old Testament.  He who is faithful, even when I am not, gathers us around God's Word as we read and we pray together.  Sometimes I am tired... sometimes the kids are tired... sometimes we come with less than joyful hearts and yet he never waivers, he just reads and he prays... and we follow him.

Yesterday, my heart realized that answering prayer sometimes takes this elusive thought called time because God's time and my time are not the same... at all.


Joining in with the gratitude community at Ann's... counting the daily gifts of grace given by Grace on this Multitude Monday.  


~*~


... for a quick trip to Mama and Papa's
... for snippets of conversation on the way
... for a few moments each day with each of my 3 before the jello runs down the tree


... for rest
... for prayer
... for recognizing a spiritual battle for what it is


... for time with friends, new and old
... for the privilege to pray for loved ones
... for a mental-health day for the girl


... for a loose splint and less swelling
... for a PE teacher who understands
... for healing


... for times when He moves me from my comfort zone
... for words that came while fingers typed an email
... for prayer coverage


... for the recognition that the leader I prayed for is my life teammate
... for answered prayer, even when I don't realize it
... for the time between that makes us all more in His image

5 minute Friday...ache...

On Friday's, we gather at the gypsy mama to write.  We write for five minutes flat on one shared topic.  


We write because we love words, love stringing them together, and love to read each other's words.  We don't worry about grammar and such things as spelling or punctuation.  We just have fun.  


Today's topic... ache.  Care to join in?

ache

GO


I see him look down at the floor, the chair, his sleeve... anywhere but in the eyes that probe.  


"If God were to come to you in a dream, like He did to Solomon, what would you ask for?"


He asked each one of our children this question.  He, who is their daddy, looked at each one and said, "What would you ask of God?"


The biggest one... the one that is rapidly approaching 6'2" quietly replied, "discernment."


The Mom in me scoffed internally.  I thought it was a cop-out answer.  One where the 15 year old forgot to do his homework and so he replied with the first thing that came to his mind.  Maybe it was... maybe it wasn't.  Either way, it was his answer.


"Why?" I asked, gently.  Another life lesson in learning to be more of a spiritual responder and less of an emotional reactor.  When the word left my lips, even I was surprised at the gentle tone and friendly inflection.  Wow!  Apparently, an old dog can learn new tricks and even more apparent to me, God is changing me.


"I would like to know more of the direction of my life," was the quiet reply.  


...in that quiet moment, the ache settled deep in my sarcastic heart.  The ache that might just be inherent to every single mother out there... the ache that reminds me that I cannot fix everything for this boy I love the most.   


It is the ache that reminds me to be on my knees before the Throne... for the rest of his life.


STOP

I AM WHO I AM... a review

I've been looking forward to writing this review for a long time.  Once in a while, I get the opportunity to write a review just 'cuz I want to... and this is one of those.


My God works in mysterious ways.  Last year, He caused my path to cross with my friend, D. J. Mercado's, through a Bible study I had written.  Several emails later and a phone call across this broad country, a friendship was born.  D. J. has prayed for me, mentored me, and even edited that particular study.  I count it a privilege to review the book of my friend.


from the back cover of I Am Who I Am-- God's Words to His Beloved...

Has God ever spoken to you?  Has He spoken so clearly that there was no doubt in your mind that it was Him?

If He has, then you know that when God speaks, lives change.  His words are never frivolous, empty, or pointless.  They are always precise, powerful, and life changing.

Every person goes on a unique spiritual journey in life.  God tugs at people's hearts, drawing them to Himself.  However, many are enticed and led astray from ever finding the true and living God.  They go everywhere on their journey but to where God is actually found:  His Word and His throne room.  I Am Who I Am--God's Words to His Beloved aims to guide you to both.  Using only the Scriptures, I Am Who I Am is written as if God is speaking personally to you.  Through sixty daily readings, God will reveal Himself to you by His names.  You will learn His character and come to know His feelings, desires, and plans for you.  Whether you are just beginning your spiritual journey or you have been on it for many years, this devotional will drive you to your knees and lift your spirit as you come  face to face with the great I AM. 

I AM WHO I AM is a devotional written for a 60 day journey of discovering just who this God I serve is.  In reading Mercado's book, I've learned more of who El Elyon-- God Most High is.  I've read His words to me when He tells me more of Himself, El Shaddai-- The Almighty God.  Each day's reading is written in first person... Him speaking directly to my heart.


The best part?  The Index of Scriptures that D. J. Mercado includes at the end of this book. Each day's devotional is taken straight from God's Word and divided by paragraph, so that I can easily cross-reference in my own Bible.  For instance, on day three, when I read about El Elyon--God Most High, this is the first paragraph...


I am El Elyon, "God Most High."  I alone am the LORD, the Most High, supreme over all the earth.  I am high above the nations.  My glory is far greater than the heavens.  Who is like Me, the One who sits enthroned on high, who stoops down to look on the heavens and the earth?


When I turn to the Index of Scriptures, this is what I find for this paragraph...


Genesis 14:20
Psalm 83:18
Psalm 113:4
Psalm 113:5-6


At the end of each day's reading, space has been included for journaling a prayer in response to what was read.


I love this book!  I actually fell in love with it when I first talked to D. J. about it.  It has been my own desire for years to know God more, to love Him more, and to understand even a tiny glimpse of who He is more and more.  Reading Mercado's book leads me deeper on that quest and mentors me along the way.  


I Am Who I Am-- God's Words to His Beloved by D. J. Mercado is available through Tate publishing as an eBook pdf for $9.99 or in paperback for $16.99.


This is one I'll buy more copies of to pass out.  It's that good!


**disclaimer... this is my own review.  I bought the book and wrote the words because I believe in this product.  I received absolutely no compensation for this review.

on a healing Monday...

After another migraine weekend, this sunrise looked amazing to me this morning.  Saturday and yesterday I did all I could to avoid the brightness of the sun's rays.  Today, I wanted to stand on my deck with open arms and say "welcome, sun!"  For fear of my neighbor's reactions, I simply snapped some quick pics.


Healing does that to me... I seem to appreciate things much more after I have had to avoid them for a while.


Speaking of healing... the boy seems to be healing marvelously.  His splint is now quite loose...

Mom... I can look down it

and see all the way to the incision

...oh joy!  

He starts his "modified PE" today... which really just means riding a stationary bicycle.  But, it counts and that is what matters!

On this sunny Monday, I continue counting with the gratitude community at Ann's.  Care to join us?

For these and so much more, all I can say is "thanks God!"

... for clear thinking

... and clearer vision

... and a man who goes out of his way to buy me more medicine

... for the advice of those who care

... for big kids who can make dinner, do dishes and do laundry

... for healing for the man-cub

... to catch glimpses of his heart

... to see him play with little ones

... for Aunt Susy and Truman's "heal soon!" card and the smile A. Susy's artwork brought

...for an invitation to pie, which lead to dinner and wii fun

... friendships

... laughter

... joy

... a new phone!

... a man who went out of his way to find me one that takes great pics

... being a team of two with him

... being married to one who lives gentleness

... for a new day

... and mercies that are new every morning!

heart grit...

Writing and practicing today with the community at gypsymama.  We write for five minutes on one common theme.  No worries about misspellings, grammar or incomplete thoughts.  Just writing for writing's sake.   Today's theme?  

GRIT

Grit...
go


Grit... sometimes it's the grime on my counter or the mud on my floor.  Other times it's the ring around my bathtub or the stuck on toothpaste in the sink.  Unless I get the broom, the rag, or the sponge, those things seem to grow and multiply until the house is a wreck.  


But what about the grit in my heart and the grime in my soul?  The stuff that sneaks in and takes up residence... the bad attitude, anger, disappointment, envy, jealousy, self-righteousness, etc.  Much like my own home, if I don't clean it out, it seems to grow.  


Lately, it seems as if mothering and motherhood has shown me the grit in my heart.  In the eye roll, the sass, the deep sigh, I hear my children echoing their mother's attitude.  It stinks in my own heart.  It stinks, even more, when I hear it in theirs.


Time to clean out the grit.
stop


... care to join in?