A Day for Mommies....

Today was such a special and treasured day. My sister in law and I took our mother in law out for a Girls Day Out/Birthday Treat for her!

 

 Whoo whoo!

 

(This is certainly a rare treat for me! )

 

 

Our day started out with breakfast at IHOP (delish) followed by Mani/Pedi's all around, then a quick trip to Kohls, where we racked up on some incredible deals.

 

**We shared stories, hopes, dreams, blessings, laughter and tears and all while being blessed by each others company! Thank you God for these women in my life and what they mean to me!

 

What an awesome day!

Can you be blessed and stressed?

As a full time housewife, mother of two, chauffeur, cook, housekeeper, nurse, and friend, I know what it is like to feel stressed. However, lately I am wondering if it is ok to feel both stressed and blessed at the same time. Everyday life seems to happen regardless of anything else and we have to remember that God has it ALL under control. He knows everything that has happened, is happening and will happen to us. When we get down, He is there to pick us up! The bible tells us in Philippians 4:6 "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." (NIV)

Take your worries to God in prayer. Weary momma, struggling teen, overworked dad, little ones, everyone......God is no partial to who prays...He wants to hear you call out His name!

 

When you start to feel yourself fall into that place of stress or despair, remember your blessings - your marriage, your children, your family, your life, the very breath you are taking right now, God has given that to you! You are blessed! The Martins sing a song called "Count Your Blessings", that reminds us of Job and how He still praised God and counted the blessing of God's love as the one thing that he had left to count on after everything else was gone. God's love is a mighty and powerful thing and we should wake up each morning and thank Him for it before our feet ever hit the floor. Maybe our days would go just a tad bit more smoothly if we did just that!

 

So when you lay your head down tonight and begin to fall asleep, don't count the sheep trying to jump over your head.....count the blessings that are all around you and praise God for each and every one!

Blackberry Cobbler, anyone?!

Ingredients

• 1 stick Butter
• 1-1/4 cup Sugar (Splenda)
• 1 cup Self-Rising Flour
• 1 cup Milk
• 2 cups Blackberries (frozen Or Fresh)
• orange juice concentrate

Preparation Instructions

Rinse all blackberries with water to clean them off. Place them in a bowl and pour orange juice concentrate over the top of them, give them a gentle stir and let sit to "marinate". Melt butter in a microwavable dish. Pour 1 cup of sugar or Splenda and 1 cup of flour into a mixing bowl, whisking in the 1 cup of milk. Mix well. Then, pour in melted butter and whisk it all well together. Butter a baking dish.

 Pour the batter into the buttered baking dish. Sprinkle blackberries over the top of the batter; distributing evenly. Be sure to give then a light squeeze to drain excess orange juice. Sprinkle ¼ cup sugar over the top.

Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 1 hour, or until golden and bubbly. If you desire, sprinkle an additional teaspoon of sugar over the cobbler 10 minutes before it’s done.

 

 

*This recipe is from The Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond, whom I just love to watch! I added the orange juice and switched the sugar to Splenda b/c this was made for my father in law who is a diabetic. The orange juice infused blackberries are delicious all by themselves also! Just a great yummy treat!! ENJOY!!

What are you?

Summer is over, fall is here and winter is just around the corner. The weather is changing and it is definitely getting colder. Time to break out the festive socks (if you know me, you know I am a festive sock wearer for all occasions).

However, the changing seasons and the temperature dropping has got me thinking lately about Christians. Are you hot or cold?

 

The bible states in Revelation 3:16 "So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth." - I read this and get an image of hot cocoa in my head. When I make my little girl or myself a cup of hot cocoa, it is almost always way too hot to drink at first so we must add milk or an ice cube to cool it down to a lukewarm temperature. But the Lord says, we must not be lukewarm or He will spue us out. We are either on fire for Him or we are cold.

 

Let's take this statement a little further by saying that if we are not on fire for Christ, then we are not hot enough. WE ARE STILL COLD!!!! I don't know that I even believe you can be lukewarm....if you are not ALL ABOUT Jesus, then you are COLD!!! Period!! How can you love Him and worship and believe Him, but not be on fire!! 

 

 

 

We cannot get complacent in our works for the Lord, we must strive to do more and more for Him each day. We need to be on fire for Him. Whether this is serving our families, others, friends, neighbors, serving in our church, etc. always have Him and the building of the kingdom of Heaven on your agenda!!

 

Are you doing good works for the Lord today? Are you seeking His purpose for your life? Are you doing it to the best of your ability? Are you searching for people to tell the glad story to?

 

I want to be on fire for Him! I pray that He forgives me each and everyday for falling short because I know I do. I am not perfect but I am forgiven! I serve a risen savior and I am not ashamed to tell the world that I LOVE JESUS!!!

 

So I am asking you today.....Hot or Cold??

 

 

WHAT ARE YOU??? 

The Simple Life-

Goodnight Jonboy....Goodnight Mary Ellen.....Goodnight Grandpa.....who remembers this show??

As a child I remember watching this show with my parents and thinking, "what in the world, I wouldn't want to live like that."

Boy was I wrong! Now that I am older, "The Waltons" has become one of our favorite shows in our house and even my five year old can sing the theme song! It is a staple in our house along with our nightly bowl of ice cream and cuddling on the couch. I just can't get enough of that show and the way they lived....such love and life in the women and men. They were simple folks living off the land and God, family and friendship was all that mattered to them. 

Watching this show every night has struck up some interesting conversations between my husband and I lately and we have decided to make some changes in our lives. We know we both have the same dream, to have a farmhouse with a farm and animals. We want our girls to know what it is like to wake up with the rooster crowing, check the coop for eggs, milk the cows and plow a garden! We want the simple life!! When I say simple, I mean wicker broom to sweep off the porch, tire swing in the front yard, no neighbors for miles, up at 5 to get breakfast from the animals we have raised, Bible reading at night on the front porch while the babies sit at my skirt tail, the whole nine yards!

So one night as we prayed, we both knew that God was telling us something, we want the simple life...so SIMPLIFY and trust Me and I will provide but you can't hang on to things that you might miss if it's holding you back from being obedient and trusting of Me!

Proverbs 3:9-10 says, "Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops;then your barns will be filled to overflowing,..." - although we tithe our 10%, this verse never meant more to me than now and I took it literally, "our barns", hey that's just what we want! But it's so much more than that, we want to honor Him not only with our monetary wealth but with our praises, we want to share with others the good things He has done, is doing and will do! We don't want to live above the simple life but we have noticed that we are in some areas...not above our means, just above simplicity. So changes are coming to this household in many ways. We are the sheep and He is our shepherd....we only need to follow Him!

Philippians 4:10-13 "I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you have been concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength."

We want to be obediently following Him in everything we do, holding strong to His word that He knows the desires of our hearts so til that day, whether it be 5 months, 5 weeks or 5 years, we continue to live the simple life devoting our time to scripture, studying God's word, serving Him in every way possible!

-Patiently Waiting (Psalm 37:3-7)

LIGHT Academy Update-

School has kicked off and we are going into week 6 now. It has been a rough start as any new homeschooling mom knows but we are making it through. We have been working on reading, writing, Bible, and Health at home but we study Art Appreciation and Anatomy every other Friday at our co-op group which is awesome!! My sweet little girl is growing up before my eyes and I can't stand it, but this is proving to be quite the journey!
She is taking gymnastics and doing Sparks Awanas at church, and will be starting Upwards Cheerleading in the fall. We have such great friends and family helping us and cheering us on through this journey which has definitely made it easier on us but I know that we are in God's will so there is no doubt and no fear that together we can do this!

My Job.....

And they're off.......School has finally started at the Harless Household, otherwise known as LIGHT Academy! We chose the name LIGHT as an acronym for Living In God's Heavenly Truth. One of the main reasons why we decided to homeschool was so that we would be able to teach our children the love of God everyday without any question about if it was "appropriate" or not. We wanted to be able to pray with her everyday, all day if necessary (and yes I am feeling like somedays IT IS!).

Being able to stay at home and prepare our home as God would have me do has become such a wonderfully fulfilling job for me. I am in love with teaching my children and helping to prepare their way into this beautiful world that God has created. I love the way my husband smiles when he walks in the door after work, and although he may be tired, he never fails to let me know how good the house smells from dinner cooking all day, or how much he appreciates and acknowledges my hardwork. What a gratifying responsibility The Lord has set upon my heart! The road of motherhood and being a wife, may not always be an easy one but it will ALWAYS be the most rewarding job every taken by a woman.....isn't that the way HE planned it!