How to Include God in Your Day- Despite the Craziness

Include God in my day regardless of the crazy that is going on. Sounds simple enough, right?

Not too long ago, I wrote a post about distractions getting in the way of my time with God. Life is crazy. Most days, I have a schedule all set and feel good about what I have planned for the day. But, there is always something that comes up and throws a wrench in things.

It is through those times, though, that I need to not get overwhelmed by everything coming at me and lose my focus. Instead, I need to learn how to include God in my day.

Continue Reading

5 Ways to Jump-Start Your Prayer Life

I don’t know about you, but I can really struggle in my prayer life. It’s something I know I should do, and I really want to! But, sometimes I feel like Paul when he was struggling with following God’s instructions.

I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate to do…For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.

Romans 7:15, 18 niv

I’m not sure what my hangup is, but I decided this was the time to overcome it! So, in order to do that, I started looking into a few ways to get into the habit of prayer. I hope (and pray) these tips will not only get my prayer life jump-started but yours as well!

Continue Reading

Gratitude – Normal or Not…

A few days ago, I went grocery shopping.  Not seemingly a monumental occasion.  But for someone who hasn’t been able to go for months, it was a pretty big deal!

After I came home, I shared with Brad how awesome it was just to be in a store.  Just to wander through the aisles and browse through all the choices…  I wanted to buy everything I saw and stock up our pantry.

Thankfully, I maintained some self-control and didn’t drain the bank account – but I sure could have…

That small trip to the grocery store was something that resembled my life before my back problems.  It was a life in which I accomplished tasks and felt productive.  A life that felt easy and comfortable.  It has been so long since I have had those feelings – so long since I have been able to do the normal things I used to take for granted.

My goal is to never do that again.

Continue Reading

9 Ways to Create a Home of Joy

You know that feeling when you walk into a clean and organized home?  For me, it’s almost as if a hush comes over everything and I just want to stop and stare.  I actually get a feeling of joy and happiness that starts in my chest and spreads outwards.  It is a true sense of peace and tranquility.  Because my surroundings are so wonderfully neat and tidy, my perfectionist tendencies are at bay because not one thing is out-of-order or begging to be changed.  I can almost hear the harps…

And, then, I wake up.  That is my dream.  Certainly not always my reality…

But, every so often, when the moon is in just the right phase and all the planets are aligned… if I’m really lucky, I can get ONE room in our home to give me that feeling. Unfortunately, everything doesn’t always come together to make that possible.  It’s way more rare than it is common.  But, it’s a good goal to have, regardless.

So, in order to bring more joy into our home on a more regular basis, I started looking around and thinking about what is truly needed to create a Home of Joy.  Along the way, I discovered there is a lot more to joy than just looks.  (Pretty sure there’s another lesson wrapped up in there somewhere…)

But, for now, here’s a quick list of what I came up with this time around…

Continue Reading

Freedom Series: A Recap

Freedom

Over the past five days, I wrote a series of posts on Freedom.  It seemed pretty appropriate as the United States was celebrating its Independence Day.  And, as I was going over all of the Freedoms given to us from God, I was struck at how much there is for us to be thankful for.

As a recap, I thought I would go back and share a quick summary of each post and the verses that have stayed with me throughout the week.  Be sure to click on the links after the verses to read the entire post!

Continue Reading