Extraordinary Faith for Everyday Life
A year ago, I was running to the grocery store nearly every day. I panicked about dinner every afternoon. I’d run to the grocery store last minute, if I could even think of something to make. Many nights, we’d head for take-out.
Now, I’m grocery shopping once a week, making homemade meals nearly every night and saving hundreds of dollars.
Follow me over to my guest post on MoneySavingMom.com to see 5 steps I took to make it happen!
We had such a good Christmas and I hope you did too.
Two weeks ago we spent the weekend in Maryland and Pennsylvania visiting my parents’ extended family.
We spent Friday night eating with my step-grandmother and then relaxing at her house. She’s the wife of my grandfather that died this summer. It was strange without him there even though normally he’s more of a watcher than a talker when the whole family’s together. It was a new, good time though. She had redecorated the living room and it was a nice new environment to match the new mix of people.
Saturday we had a potluck dinner with my dad’s family. We were missing one cousin and all her family as she had just given birth the day before, but we got to love on my other cousin’s new baby boy from this year. So fun having little ones around again. We played a new “left and right” Christmas game which Lexi led. Lots of laughter, just how Christmas should be.
Sunday we had dinner with my mom’s side of the family. We loved laughing with my cousin’s little toddler, the kids had a ton of fun with all the presents and it was good times with everyone.
Fast-forward to this week on Christmas Eve. Mom fixed us dinner, Lexi regaled us with the Christmas story to the tune of Twas the Night Before Christmas and then we had a nice time opening presents.
Christmas morning I had the winter wonderland ready for the kids like last year. They made sure I did it again and even helped with the snowflakes this year. The girls loved all their presents. There were no complaints or meltdowns, just lots of smiles. Their favorite was a doctor kit with personalized lab coats. Scott and I just exchanged one present. I got him a watch and he got me new headphones for my computer.
And finally, for Christmas lunch we had steaks over at Scott’s parents. I even managed to pull together a gluten-free Happy Birthday, Jesus cake for dessert thanks to a little help from Mom at the last minute when I iced it before the cakes were cool. Again, we had a great time opening presents and it was a nice afternoon.
All in all, a wonderful Christmas season. We are so, so blessed with lots of wonderful family.
I couldn’t help but continually think about people in Newtown and many other people who had so much else to worry about this season. In stressful times, I remembered it could have been much worse and gave thanks for all we did have.
I was able to save a week of time off for this week and I’ve put my house in a head lock and am waiting for it to cry uncle. Just a few minutes ago, I finished repainting the hall and bathroom. Lots of much needed maintenance happening as well as family time.
Hard to believe we’ll be saying goodbye to 2012 in just a few days. Goes faster and faster, doesn’t it?
Our tree this year is my favorite ever. Our tree seems to be like my wardrobe—the older I get, the more I learn what is actually me. I like it more when I stay true to that.
I love the bright red and lime green. I love simple, cute, modern and of course a few handmade ones.
This ball ornament is a set of 4 my mom gifted me. I think it was the first set of ornaments I got that felt like me.
I bought this at Target several years ago. I love the simple, unstained wood. It feels rustic with a little shout-out to homemade snowflakes.
This little angel was a gift, along with several other on the tree. When I put these on the tree, it reminds me of the giver and I love that they’re part of our tree every year.
This is another Target find the year I go the snowflakes. While I’m not normally a teddy bear kind of gal I thought it was modern enough in the tree cut-out.
This lime green swirl is another find from my mom. Whimsical and lime green.
Here’s a new one for this year. Lexi used her own money to buy this one with Tucker’s name on it at the Christmas Show in Charlotte.
Again, another Target find. I love the glitter and reminder of the true reason for the season—Christ coming to build His church.
Wow, um, another Target one. Glitter. Lime green. Snowflake. I’m starting to see a pattern. Also note the red glitter spray pick in the background. It’s a new find this year from the Christmas show and I absolutely adore them.
And of course, here’s a handmade little gingerbread man, one of several handmade ornaments on the tree. He’s even missing a button.
This is one of three picture frames from Target. These might be my favorite ones to pull out every year. So sweet.
And just as a bonus, here is the full tree.
Hop over to Musings of a Housewife to see more Ornament Show and Tells.
Me, Dani, Joni at a band competition in 2000-ish
One of my favorite Christmas presents ever was a jacket.
I worked hard in school. Really, really hard. These days I look back and wonder why in the world I worked so hard. I think there was some competitiveness in there and perfectionism. Maybe some tall expectations on my part. Perhaps even wanting-to-fit-in-ness.
I was smart in school but I wasn’t one of those that naturally got it. I couldn’t just listen to a lecture, forget to study and still pass with A’s. I was the one studying for hours, crying over my notebooks, trying to memorize every single word.
My hard work paid off in the end though. I mean, I think. I probably could have enjoyed a lot more moments instead of studying, but it literally paid off. I ended up with a half scholarship to the local University based on my grades and SAT score.
I was only a teensy 10 points away from moving my scholarship from half to full though, so we decided I should take the SATs one more time. Sure enough, I improved by 10 teensy points and landed a full scholarship to Winthrop University.
So, for the last Christmas of high school, I asked to get a green hooded zipper jacket with my school’s name embroidered.
Sitting on the couch in my grandmother’s living room, I knew what the big wrapped box being handed my way had in it. If I remember, I wasn’t supposed to know but somehow I had found out. It wasn’t even a surprise when I unwrapped it, but I burst into tears.
Somehow that green jacket validated all my hard work. I was going to college. For free. The late nights studying and worrying and memorizing suddenly were all validated in that moment and that little jacket was like a constant congratulatory hug.
I want to provide that moment of validation for others this Christmas.
For a mom, I want her to know the late night feedings, dirty diapers and constant attention was worth it.
For a child, I want her to know that even when she feels unseen and unchosen, someone still is thinking of her.
For the family struggling to provide, I want them to know all the hard work to provide for their family isn’t in vain.
Compassion is asking this Christmas what the phrase “It’s About Giving” means. To me, giving gifts is about providing these special moments. Moments they realize someone cares about them, someone sees them, someone is validating what they’re doing.
We have the opportunity to give these moments through Compassion’s gift catalog to some people that really, really need a moment.
The cool thing is if you give, I have a chance to give too. For every $1,000 given through these campaign links, a blogger has a chance to give an extra $50 their sponsored child. Oh, how I want to be able to give that!
Would you consider including Compassion’s gift catalog as part of your giving this Christmas? The gifts start at just $4. We can make a difference this Christmas. And not just a difference, a moment.
I don’t normally ask it outright, but please consider sharing this post with your friends and family? I love Compassion and what they do and would love to see this opportunity they’re providing shared.
A few weeks ago I decided that I’d try to take our own picture for Christmas cards. We had just gotten back from church, the sun was shining and this bush in the front of our yard was burning this beautiful deep red and I thought it would be a perfect background.
I rustled everyone up, brushed hair, set up the ladder to hold the camera and then set everyone up.
But then we realized there wasn’t a good angle for the bush because our electric box was hidden behind the bush.
The sun was shining SO bright none of us could actually SEE.
Scott was irritable.
And Lexi was in near tears.
Sometimes the best laid plans fall short.
We’re in Advent season and amidst all the tinsel and bells, there’s going to be yucky stuff too.
Pictures aren’t going to come out, parties are going to be awkward, presents are going to be ill-fitting, uncles are going to be crass and grandmas are going to be bossy and tired.
It’s ok, y’all.
You’re not alone in your just-not-right moments and when the sun’s too bright and the electric box is too green and Daddy is irritable, take a deep breath and remember we’re celebrating the birth of a baby Jesus in a stable. It’s not going to be perfect, it’s probably going to be messy but if a baby can go on to save the world from that mess, we can probably move on and be ok too.
My weekend ranged from closing the sparkly chapter of my life with the Breaking Dawn finale Friday night to spending a few hours at the Southern Women’s Christmas show in Charlotte yesterday.
I haven’t done a weekend recap post in quite some time and it seems like a good weekend to share.
Friday night my sister and I saw Breaking Dawn Part 2. In the past year or so my obsession with the Twilight franchise had waned but I needed to see this last movie for closure. Yes, it was a thing that needed closure. I went into with “I just hope it’s better than the first.” This movie franchise has left a lot to be desired, yes? I’m already wishing for remakes. But ya’ll, I was pleasantly surprised. In fact, more than surprised, I was downright satisfied.
Finally Bella and Edward seemed to fit in their own skin. I think partly because they were portraying now-equal and happy characters and partly because Kristen and Rob had grown has actors too. It was a beautiful thing to see. The movie hit on all the important moments—Bella meeting Renesmee, Bella knocking Jac0b around, the cabin, Charlie. And yes, the final scene with the Volturi. I refuse to spoil it but I think it might go down as one of my favorite movie viewing moments ever. EVER. It was genius what they did. The final scene when Edward finally sees Bella’s memories and we could experience them too was just a perfect ending. I’m walking away from Twilight a happy participant to all the madness.
Saturday morning we took Tucker to dog training. Did I tell you yet we put him in training? Turns out Tucker will do just about anything for a treat and he is one of the best in class. He’s a smart dog. Just too much energy for his own good.
Saturday afternoon the girls and I served with Serving Meals Ministry. We passed out Thanksgiving meals to a low-income section of town. It was one of my favorite hours of the whole weekend. We thought we were going to be serving at tables in a fellowship hall but we actually took meals in to-go boxes door to door. It sounds kind of scary and campy but let me assure you it was not. When you have something to offer for free that is good, it immediately takes the pressure off. The residents were grateful and extremely nice.
I’ve had this concept of lights for the past few weeks. As a handful of us were each taking a door in one of the sections of the townhouses, I could not help but think about light. You know when you’re going into a dark room and the door is opening and as the door opens, each thing in the room is illuminated bit by bit? That’s what I saw when a group of us went door to door. It was like a door was opening on the townhouses, each home being illuminated as we visited. A beautiful picture of God’s light shining into the darkness and one that I will not soon forget.
I’m only sharing because I want to first share that it’s not scary and in fact, very fun, and second so locals might be aware. Serving Meals Ministry does this once a month and needs volunteers. Let me know if you’re interested and maybe next time we can go together!
Saturday evening I took the girls to Chuck E. Cheese. Lexi’s birthday was a few weeks ago and Emma turns 10 tomorrow. 
I’m having small break downs as I go about this matter. I can’t handle the double-digits apparently. I still remember sitting at our oak table blowing out my own 10 candles thinking to myself, “Goodbye, single digit years.” It feels impossible that Emma is turning 10. To cope, we’re doing lots of celebrating.
We went to Great Wolf Lodge last month, I took them to get their nails done at a kids spa last weekend, they each are having sleepovers and on the spur of the moment, I took them by myself to Chuck E. Cheese Saturday night.
I realized it’s highly likely that Chuck E. Cheese isn’t going to be cool soon and as maniacal as that place is, I really was going to miss their excitement over it. So we played skee ball and they wasted their coins on fake ID cards and we ate bad pizza and drank soft drinks. It was everything people love to hate about Chuck E. Cheese. And since my wallet was screaming for more punishment, we hopped down to the shopping mall strip to Party City where we got all the supplies for Emma’s party tomorrow. I can’t say I regret a single penny.
Sunday after church we went to the Southern Women’s Christmas Show. Somehow I had managed to skip this event all my life. But wow, Charlotte knows how to put on a Christmas Show. For the uninitiated, it’s just a bazaar type thing but that actually have it decorated so it looks like you’re walking through a village of shops. There are full rooms decorated and Christmas scenes and it’s just very pretty and exciting and inspiring, albeit a bit much for the kids. Three building full of vendors literally put Lexi on the floor. They were definitely ready to go after three hours but if you ask, they loved it as much as we did. I bought some sparkly red decorations to add to the tree and I’m really excited to decorate this year.
And between all that, I was obsessively catching up with Hart of Dixie. And that’s a whole other post. Seriously, I want to do a whole other post on it.
Hope you guys had a great weekend and are preparing for a lovely Thanksgiving weekend. I’ll be back tomorrow crying all over my keyboard about Emma’s 10 birthday!
So, you know Hobby Lobby, right? It’s the arts and crafts store with all the pretty accessories too? Hobby Lobby is owned by the Green family. Steve Green has been the CEO since 2004.
In 2009, Steve started collecting biblical artifacts which now includes over 40,000 items and called The Green Collection.
In 2011, 400 items were put into a traveling exhibit of biblical artifacts called Passages.
Passages exhibit opened in Oklahoma City, moved to Atlanta and most recently, I found out somewhere on the Internets that Passages moved right here (here for me, not you. well, maybe you.) in Charlotte.
And THEN I realized that the exhibit is literally next door to my office complex (one exit passed IKEA!). When I was at the office yesterday, I realized I could see their building right through the trees.
So yesterday at lunch, I threw my lunch plans out the window and headed over to Passages.
When you walk in the lobby, you’re greeted by displays from Wycliffe and The Voice of the Martyrs. I could have spent a ton of time there alone. The Voice of the Martyrs had these large journals set out where visitors could write sections of the Bible. They had a stand for each Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. I randomly chose to write Luke 22:27-30.
Mm. That’s good stuff.
So once you get passed this lobby section, you go get your ticket in the gift shop. I could have spent lots-o-money. They had books and Bibles and prayer shawls and paintings and all sorts of good stuff. Just love.
With a Christmas special they have right now, I was able to get $5 off my ticket plus an audio tour on an iPod touch which was big points in my book, don’t ya know.
Unfortunately, I was not able to take pictures of the displays but let me share a few things I really liked seeing.
Unfortunately, I was having to speed through the exhibit. I didn’t listen to the majority of the audio. They had a ton of cool video you could stop and listen to and even printing activities you could participate in. I’d definitely donate several hours to viewing it properly. The site told me so but you know, I had to fit in what I could.
One special moment occurred when I got caught up in a senior citizen group touring the exhibit. The exhibit was pretty empty besides their group and a few of us other straggling individuals. This sweet elderly lady turned to me with the biggest grin and started talking like she knew me. “Isn’t this wonderful? I just didn’t all of this existed.” I made some more small talk with her and moved on. But it reminded me of how we’re always learning about the Lord. We’ll never “get there”. And more than that, it was definitely one of those “this is how Heaven is going to be” moments. We’ll all just know each other and rejoice in the things of God together.
I can’t recommend it enough for everyone in the area—or even close to the area. Definitely take advantage of their Christmas special that is going on now until the end of the year.
.
This isn’t a sponsored post, just wanted to share!
*picture source of entrance and display cover to Passages Facebook
Dear 16 year old Amy,
Could you spare a few minutes from your new boyfriend to read this letter? I know it will be hard. You can’t seem to take your eyes or hands off of him, but I know you’re smart and really want to do the right thing so listen up.
That boy that has stolen your attention? You’re right–he’s a keeper. He’ll make you crazy and you’re gonna go through some hard things together but he’s worth hanging on to. So enjoy all those kisses, the glazed over eyes and yes, even the cheesy poems and letters. It doesn’t last forever.
But the waiting? It’s worth the judgment and the explanations and all the no’s. Your wedding night is awkward and painful and not anything like the movies but it will be all kinds of good and right and you do get better. So much better.
Quit worrying about that cute boy at church who said you were ugly. He’ll grow up and still won’t be able to take his eyes off himself long enough to realize he was wrong.
And that girl you want to be just like? She’s beautiful and great and all. But so are you. I wish you’d realize you just need to be you instead of a poor carbon copy of some other girl.
Stop obsessing over your waistline.
Relax, please. I know your mom wants you to do your best at school and you do too but that doesn’t mean you have to do THE best. Study a little less and spend time with your friends and family a little more.
Those moments you have with God where tears drip on your Bible and you hug your pillow tight? Trust those. He’s really real and He’ll keep meeting you over and over and saving you over and over.
And on that note, quit trying to be so perfect so He loves you more. No matter what you do, He’ll still be there. Give yourself some grace. I’m not telling you to purposefully screw up, but don’t be scared and fearful when you do.
And more than that, quit expecting everyone else to be so perfect. You and your friends are just kids right now and for goodness sakes, you’re all just human. No one ever really figures life out and gets it right. The best thing you can do is love with abandon and not judgment.
But that love you feel for the ignored and the hurt? Follow that more. You’ll still feel that way later and it will lead you down the right paths.
Let go of the fear. All of it.
Appreciate your parents even more than you do. You don’t realize it but not everyone has parents like yours. Say thank you more, hug them more and don’t complain so much when you have to wash dishes.
Please pay more attention in English. You think you’re a math whiz, but it turns out you kind of like that writing business.
Now if I know you and I think I do, you’ll make this in to a checklist and try to follow it to a T. Don’t. Just throw it away. Throw all your lists away and just enjoy life a little more. Maybe you’ll help me finally learn how to let go.
Love,
34 Year Old You
This post was written in part for the launch of Emily Freeman’s book Graceful.
