My 2021 Joy Dare – Week 8

Posted on by Mary
Joy

Good morning everyone. I hope you had a very joy filled week last week! I cannot believe that’s the last full week of February!! This month has flown by so fast!

Remember that this blog series is taken from Ann Voskamp’s Book One Thousand Gifts (You can check it out by visiting AMAZON- this is NOT an affiliate link)

And to get the monthly challenge prompts and other encouraging postsyou can check out Ann Voskamp’s website.

joy

February 19th-25th

February 19th- 3 gifts that were plan B’s
  • SNOW DAYS
  • COVID qarentine
  • Medical issues in Decmber
February 20th- A gift at Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner
  • Breakfast- that food tastes Good again (not Covid related)
  • Lunch -Healthier snack options
  • Dinner- Just being able to cook again
February 21st- 3 Gifts white
  • A fresh blanket of snow that is such a sweet picture/ reminder of how our hearts are washed clean of sin
  • A clean sheet of paper-or better yet a brand spanking new notebook or sketchbook
  • My current favorite mug with Gold and pink letters on it!
February 22nd- 3 Gifts that Changed today
  • An ultrasound instead of a regular Monday- making sure my bladder and kidneys are functioning properly
  • a new desk in the craft room- It’s going to change a lot of things
  • a cleared schedule because of the crazy snow
February 23rd- A gift on Tin, Glass, and wood
  • Tin- cute metal baskets- and very helpful;
  • Glass- (CERAMIC) my new mug hubby gave me for Valentines Day
  • Wood- my new craft table
February 2th- 3 gifts before 11 am
  • a GORGEOUS sunrise
  • quiet time with Jesus
  • Devotions with the family
February 25th- A gift worn out, made new, made do
  • worn out- towels that have served their purpose well- given as gifts for our wedding/ bridal shower.
  • made new- old picture frames with a fresh coat of paint.
  • Made do- an old stretched out Ace bandage wrapped around another sprained ankle

How about you? What are you finding JOY in this week.? Share in the comments below!

Want to catch up on all the other Joy Dare posts? Check them out here!

Have a Blessed Day!

My 2021 Joy Dare – Week 6

Posted on by Mary
Joy

Good morning everyone I hope you have had a joy filled week and we will just jump right into this weeks Joy Dare.

joy

You can check out more of the Joy Dare Collection by visiting Ann Voskamp’s website here and you can check out her book One Thousand Gifts on amazon by clicking here. (NOT an affiliate link)

February 5th-11th 2021

February 5th- A Gift stitched, hammered and woven
  • Stitched- curtains made for our home by a friend
  • A jewelry box- made by my hubby, years before meeting me intended for his future wife, given to me on the day of our engagement- it was the “box ” for my engagement ring.
  • Woven- A drawer full of hot pads made by our daughter. one of the first “big girl” projects she cut her crafting teeth on.
February 6th- 3 Gifts outside
  • Beautifully snowy landscapes outside every back window each with it’s own perspective.
  • Birds chirping even though I know spring won’t be here for a while, it still sounds beautiful and brings hope for my heart!
  • peels of laughter from our kids romping in some of the deepest snow and highest snow piles they have seeing some time.
February 7th- A gift at 11:30 am, 2:30 pm, and 6:30 pm
  • 11:30 am- after finishing up church for the week I get to make face to face contact with the younger kids of our church when they come to see me. I get to give them a gift for me super troopers during this time of pandemic and I love seeing the smiles on their faces. I know they can’t wait for more of their kids programming to return but at least they are enjoying this time of flux as well.
  • 2:30 pm- school is winding down for the day and that means a BREAK!
  • 6:30 pm- family time watching the Super Bowl (this is our first year being able twitch it live!)

**I used a middle of the week gift for 2:30 since nothing was happening**

February 8th- A gift broken, fixed and thrifted
  • Broken- Countless mugs :(. Tile floors and mugs don’t mix
  • Fixed- A cross with a beloved verse, it cracked and eventually broke but I was able to glue it back together
  • Thrifted-A set of brown and tan crockery- I have been collecting the set for years from thrift stores only because you can no longer buy them anywhere. My set is now complete!
February 9th- 3 surprise gifts- Unexpected Grace
  • A slot from a friend, it repeats back what I say but in an absolutely adorable voice. This gift came in an absolute perfect time one of great struggle.
  • very single time I received a secret sister gift it was a surprise and a blessing- matter of fact they still bless my socks off today. I can see 15 of them just from where I am sitting right now!
  • A sweet doubled thank you gift after making a purchase from a friend.
February 10th- 3 times you heard laughter today
  • S telling us he had had his hair extensions ready.
  • Nugget’s antics keep us in stitches, she is just so stinking funny
  • LOTS of funny things in the doctors office- all I have t say is “Lip Follicles”
February 11th-3 gifts in working
  • My home is a haven for our family and for all who enter it- safety for all.
  • growing (my own) through my writing.
  • Progress- moving forward, taking the next step

To see the other posts in this series check this out!

How about you? Are you joining me in this Joy Dare? what are your greatest joys from this week?

Happy Homemaker Monday 2-8-2021

Posted on by Mary
Happy

Happy Monday everyone! I hope you have had an amazing week.

♥♥The Weather♥♥

COLD- tomorrow might count as a heat wave at a whopping 29 degrees. Don’t worry as you will see the temps start heading south again by the end of the week  .

Monday – 21
Tuesday – 27
Wednesday – 22
Thursday – 22
Friday – 19
Saturday –  18
Sunday – 17

And we won’t even discuss night time temps BRRRR.
♥♥How I am feeling this morning♥♥

Exhausted. And a tad discouraged finding it hard to get motivated

♥♥On my mind♥♥ 

   Learning- Sometimes the learning process exhausting. Being a responsible learner means you have to apply what you are learning. Sometimes when you are learning a lot all at once can make you feel like you aren’t applying what you learn responsibly. Do you follow?

 ♥♥On the breakfast plate♥♥

Cold pizza. It was a rushed morning . And I just grabbed what was in the fridge   

♥♥On my reading pile♥♥ 

  • My Bible Friendship on Purpose reading plan
  • In His Image
  • I’d Rather be Laughing
  • The Silver Chair
  • The Powerful Purpose of Introverts
  • S. H. A. P.E.
  • Lisette’s List
 ♥♥On my tv♥♥

Nothing

 ♥♥On the menu this week♥♥

 Monday – Venison Soup
Tuesday – Tacos
Wednesday – Chef Salads
Thursday -Stuffed meatballs with Mushroom Soup
Friday – Leftovers
Sunday  Baked Ziti

♥♥From the camera♥♥ 

Happy
♥♥Looking around the house♥♥

 General cleaning

♥♥New recipe I tried last week, or one that we really enjoyed♥♥

Nothing


♥♥To relax this week, I will♥♥

Read and write

♥♥Something I want to share♥♥

This year I have taken on bullet journaling for both my blog and reading. It gives me exactly what need because I choose what gets added and what doesn’t.

♥♥Devotional, inspirational, prayer list or Bible verse♥♥ 

Today I was reading in James 5 an answer to prayer happened. I always think its amazing how when You ask God to give you wisdom and insight in growing in your faith . This was no different I have been on a journey of becoming a better pray-er and this chapter had some great insight for me!

For more Happy Homemaker Monday posts check out Diary of a Stay at Home Mom

My 2021 Joy Dare- Week 5

My 2021 Joy Dare- Week 5

Posted on by Mary
Joy

Good evening everyone. I hope you have had a joy filled week! I cannot believe that we are in week of this year’s Joy Dare! This year is already flying by so quickly and I don’t know about you but last month with my theme of Intentional Gratitude I found myself growing leaps and bounds.

This month’s theme is Intentional Love and I will have posts. based on that but for right now let’s just into. what we are thankful for this week.

Joy

January 29- February 4th

January 29th- A Song heard, a soft word, and a light seen
  • A song heard- actually many songs heard- it brings me great joy to see and hear our kids singing their hearts out for Jesus. Such Joy in their hearts. I appreciate the lyrics that are being embedded on their hearts
  • A soft word- early morning conversations with Ron as we get ready for our day
  • A light seen- the ever so faint of a glimmer of morning kissing the oh-so-black sky
January 30th- 3 old things seen new
  • A stack of picture frames ready to be repurposed into new
  • Old jeans ready to be used for new projects, specifically a hanging organizer for the craft room
  • Old wood ready to be repurposed for a room remodel
January 31- A gift on paper, in person and in a picture
  • On Paper- A card sent my a dear friend to encourage and make me laugh
  • In Person- seeing our teens back in Youth Group- it’s such a gift.
  • In pictures- The pictures that pop up in our facebook memories: toothless kiddos, quotes from Faith Giants spurring on from heaven, verses of encouragement, and funny pictures to make us chuckle.
joy
February 1- 3 Gifts Red
  • a Beautifully hand painted Red Cardinal Card from a good friend
  • 2 red Scarves both gifts from friends that keep me cozy on cold winter days
  • two frogs and a sloth gifted to me by my hubby with big red bows on them
February 2nd- 3 Gifts found on Paper
  • An artist print hanging on the wall in the doctors office
  • Get well cards pinned on my inboard written with words of encouragement and love
  • Countless journals of a life lived relying on Jesus
February 3rd- 3 Gifts found in writing
  • God’s Word- all of it
  • Goals written down- reminds me of my purpose.
  • Words found in comments on my blog encouraging me to keep going.
February 4th- 3 Gifts when bent down (I’m going to give you five)
  • Mia
  • Tia
  • Rosie
  • Nugget
  • Daisy

These are our 5 current fur babies which are such a HUGE blessing to our family!

And there you have it another week of the Joy Dare. to learn more about the Joy Dare you Can check out Ann Voskamp’s website here.

And you can also check out Ann’s Book One Thousand Gifts on Amazon. (This is not an affiliate link)

Hindsight is “2020”

Posted on by Mary
2020

I know I know, you are saying “MARY! Why on earth do you want to go back to 2020…DO YOU REMEMBER DECEMBER!?!” The Answer is Yes I do remember 2020….Yes I do remember December 2020- but the problem is the question. I DO want to December 2020. I DON’T want to RELIVE. December!

Remembering is what Keeps us from Repeating

We all know the phrase “history repeats itself”. And it is so true. History teaches us so many things and when we don’t remember it’s obvious we forget and when we forget….and when we forget history repeats itself. weened to learn from our mistakes….and others mistakes. I am going to address this in the next couple of weeks in a blog post about the importance of those who have gone before us.

In some Christian circles today we tend to forget those courageous believers who have fought some amazing battles for the faith and we tend to put stock in those still walking out their faith today. this was a realization for me in 2020 as some major “influencers of the faith” fell off their proverbial pedestals and shocked us all. the problem is this:

  • they never belonged there in the first place
  • they haven’t finished the race yet!!!

I have been let down by a fair share of humans….HUMAN Christians to be exact. I am sure I have let people down too. BECAUSE I ASSURE you I AM HUMAN (my kids might disagree- at least I didn’t claim to be a normal human). I am not perfect and nor do I claim to be and yet I know that people put me on a higher plain because I am a pastor’s wife. I make mistakes. I blow it. I need Grace Mercy and Love just as much as anyone else on the face of this planet.

This is why modeling our lives after people who have finished the race well, those who have gone before use and fought the good fight make excellent role models. (But more on this in a few weeks)

What I learned in 2020
  • I have learned to set my sights on Jesus. There are lots of people in this world who will try to tell you what you are thinking feeling and what your motives are. The reality is I am not accountable to them.
  • I have learned to ask hard questions of my friends and husband, especially when accused of something. Sometimes our emotions get the better of us and we can’t see through them to the truth. Now this only works if you have friends who won’t pull any punches with you.
  • I have learned to speak up! For others that is.
  • I have learned how to rely on my husband in some new ways and to be honest about the state of my body in needing rest.
  • I have learned to ask for help.
  • I have learned to say “I need to go to the ER”.
  • I have learned to let people go.
  • I have learned to trust God with the smallest of details in a moment by moment situation when I am not sure if I can last a second longer in some of the worst pain in my life.
  • I have learned to let goals go. (and with that some self made ideals)
  • I have learned to say yes to God in new ways and no to people in others.
  • I have learned to love in new ways and pray in new ways.
  • I learned how many tiles were in an ER cubicle at the hospital ( I was on morphine- I know it was over 300 little squares but can remember exactly).
  • I learned how to use a bullet journal.
  • I learned how to have fun while in pain.
  • I learned how to put into practice the re-counting of WHAT I KNOW. (blog post coming next week)

And the list goes on and on. now you might say Mary how on earth can remember how many tiles on the ER room ceiling help you in the future- well it will help me to remember to bring a book with me the next time or to grab my phone from my purse so I can read from their.

In short 2020 taught me to Have Joy in the hardships (HA I told you I needed joy for a second year- now I know Why!). 2020 taut me how tobe intentional IN. Every. Single. THING. And now I am taking what I learned in 2020 and putting it into practice. That’s why this month is going to be focused on {intentional}LOVE. Because I can now loo back at 2020 and see the lessons I have learned it’s now my job to apply them.

In September of 2020 I really started paying attention to the thereof being Intentional and making very intentional choices and I kicked off that journey with a post called Intentionally Social: 3 Reasons to Keep Social Media. And since I wrote that post I have made an active choice to change the way I have been using social media. I always tried to use it the way I am now but it was haphazard . Now I am actively asking myself everyday- specifically my devotions and reading- WHAT DO I WANT TO REMEMBER FROM THIS……and I post it. If it helps or ministers to someone else great but I am choosing to intentionally use Facebook memories to REMEMBER!

So how about you what have you been learning in 2020? what has God been teaching you?

(Remember this is a positive place and we need to keep it kind and uplifting and if it doesn’t fit in the parameters of 1 Thessalonians 5:11 it will be deleted!)

1 Thessalonians 5:11 “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”