Walking By Faith

Gratitude In the Middle

Posted on March 10, 2022March 10, 2022 by Mary

Hello friends! Welcome to Gratitude in the Middle! I can just hear you now saying “Mary what on earth is Gratitude in the Middle?”

Have no fear I’m going to explain it right here (sorry I was reverting to my inner poet.)

Gratitude in the middle is what this years Thankful Thursday is going to look like. I know it took me til March to get this out there but sometimes other things need to happen first and that is exactly what needed to happen for me. I needed to work through some stuff (more on that next week when I talk what RESTORE looks like for the first three months of this year.

Gratitude in the Middle

This year’s weekly thankfulness post is going to look a little different than other years. Usually I spent Thursday’s post listing out what I am thankful for…and this is a great practice for a number of reasons and we will get into that in future blog posts, but specifically on Thursdays we are going to chat about what Gratitude in the Middle of various seasons of life looks like…Say for instance grief, change, or illness. Don’t worry there will be lots of positive scenarios too.

I want to have this discussion because Gratitude when directed and focused on the right person (PSSST the short answer is God) has the capability to really affect our perspective on life in General and it affects how we view future circumstances as well.

Gratitude in the Middle is….

…….On Thursdays which in in the Middle of the week (kind of).

So instead of a lengthy list in the middle of the week let’s meet to discuss how we can best be grateful in whatever season we are currently in. Now sometimes seasons don’t change week by week (I mean this winter has been going on for at least a decade now right ??? Just kidding!).

So I will be pulling from past seasons in life to share what worked and what didn’t in those seasons pertaining to gratitude.

We will also discuss what keeps us from being grateful….we will call them gratitude gators.

And I might even have some fun stuff along the way. I have some really neat ideas in the future about like printable resources or graphics.

I hope you Join me on this journey as we explore GRATITUDE IN THE MIDDLE!

You can check out my previous posts (2021 Joy Dare) and (Thankful Thursday) here.

And you can check out one of my favorite book on the subject of Gratitude One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp (Not an affiliate link)

So how about you, what season are you in right now? Are you finding it hard to have gratitude? We have all struggled with this…it comes and it goes.

Blessings

Mary

Hello and Welcome!!!

Posted on March 9, 2022March 9, 2022 by Mary

HELLO Myy name is Mary and welcome to my little place on the internet, I have been blogging here for about 7 years BUT I have been blogging in general for 15 years! YIKES. Feel free to poke around and get to know my home on the internet.

So who am I?

Like I said I’m Mary- I am in my 40’s. I am married to my red-head hubby and this May we will celebrate 19 years of marriage! We have 4 kids ages 16, 15, 14, and soon to be 12. It goes boy, girl, boy, boy.

We are an animal family too. We currently have 3 dogs and 3 cats and I know horses are in our near future.

I am a Christ follower. This is the single most important part of my life. Because if my relationship with Jesus isn’t first and foremost, the other areas of my life will and have suffered when I lose sight of that priority.

My purpose in life is to make God famous -to bring Him glory in everything I say and do. I’m human and I make mistakes. I fall short but the amazing thing about God is he is full of grace and mercy, He wants me to grow and learn from my mistakes. I am his creation!

And I am a pastor’s wife. Yep my hubby is in full time ministry. As much as this doesn’t define me it is an intragal part of who I am. We just left a ministry we were in for 12 years and accepted a position at the very church we have been attendiing since we left…..it was a God thing for sure and wasn’t on our radar! God really is amazing!

Let’s get a little deeper

I write for 3 reasons

For my sanity- I love to write. I have been writing little stories and poems and journaling for as long as I can remember..
It really helps me to process th things I am struggling with vs. what I am learning about. I am an avid reader, and sometimes the things I am reading hits a deep . And I become very passionate. Because I want to live a life of excellence in how I live for and serve God.
For the growth of others. My thought is, if I’m struggling with something I know I’m not alone. My goal is to help other women grow right along with me.

I am passionate about living with God-fidence…..as in confidence in God, rather than myself. I can’t do anything. I’m a flawed human being who has been saved by Jesus and it’s only through him that I can do anything!

I’m passionate about having a godly influence. So mach so that I have written a HUGe series on the Power of Your influence here in my blog and I have spoken to a group of women on the topic as well. I am a firm believer that we are all influencers whether we like it or not, it’s a matter of WHAT KIND of influence we are. You can check that series out here. (there are 2 sets ones from 2018 and ones from 2021)

I am slo passionate about living a life of excellence for Jesus. Now this has been a struggle for me personally over the last number of years. And even though it has been a struggle for me and I have fallen short doesn’t mean I can’t be passionate about it. Sometimes our greatest struggles are born out of our passion. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do not confuse excellence with perfection!

Some fun facts about me

I (am)

an introvert- but that doesn’t mean I’m not a little weird or quirky. and that I can’t get upon front of people and speak
kinda a nerd…yeah I’m completely ok with that!
a creative…..in a whole bunch of ways
have been on a journey of learning how to paint…not very good but I love the process
have been a missionary as a fresh out of high school graduate and went half way around the world…which was also my first time on a plane
did I mention I’m afraid of heights
enjoy reading (I think I already said that)
want to write a book (can you guess the topic?)
know that I have a very specific calling for helping women and girls to bridge the generation gap.
passionate about women’s ministry
have been a mentor at a Crisis Pregnancy center
directed more plays than I have fingers
helped build/ design parade floats
served on a women’s conference planning team
have been a book reviewer for major Christian publishing company
have been legally blind since I was 13
We have two special needs kids
loved to play basketball
Heath bars are my favorite candy bars
love to cook
was a tomboy.
have eaten silkworm…..and liked it
have used a squatty potty and it’s not the type advertised by a cute unicorn
took every wood-working class available to me at my middle and high school
enjoy learning new things. BUT it takes me forever to actually take the next step to actually try the new thing.
am a planner
actually like public speaking (remember I said I was weird and quirky)

My purpose

So now that you have gotten to know me a little better here’s my purpose

Hebrews 10:24 NLT
²⁴Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works.

So let’s join in community. …..

to fulfill that purpose!

This isn’t just about me! I want this to be a safe place for us to grow together and help each other…So join in the discussion in the comments or you can check out my blog’s facebook page.

It’s my goal to make that usable and if you like the page you can get updated when I add a new blog post.

Thank you so much for checking out this post and my blog. I hope and pray for you my readers that these posts will meet you where you are ate! I hope you feel welcome, loved and seen.

Let’s get started together! You can start by introducing yourself in the comments below!

Good Morning Happy Homemaker Monday

Posted on March 7, 2022March 7, 2022 by Mary

Good morning friends. I don’t know about you but I am excited this morning! First off I’m a weird one….I love mornings and I LOVE Mondays! It’s a fresh start and boy do we need one I this household. It finally happened. After two years ( we may have gotten it two years ago but we had no way of being tested) We got Covid. Yep 4 out of the 6 of us. It wasn’t bad. Hubby and I have been vaccinated but even our kids didn’t have it bad either. Snuffy noses, coughs and a sore throat or two. But all in all we are on the mend. This week started out great too because here in upstate Ny we are getting a very nice taste of spring!

Yesterday was also 70!

♥♥ The Weather ♥♥

Like I said yesterday was almost 70 and today is supposed to be 55. No complaints here for sure. The rest of the week is in the 30’s and 40’s but that is SOOOO much warmer than we have seen over the last few weeks!

♥♥ How I am feeling ♥♥

Still coughing and fatigued but for the most part pretty good

♥♥ On the breakfast plate ♥♥

Coffee (as always) and egg whites

♥♥ On my reading pile ♥

I’m finishing up the book of Luke this week and jumping into John for my Bible reading
I am catching up on the Life Giving Home
Hello Fears ( finishing from the fall)
The Secret Sauce to Freelance writing (PDF Book)

♥♥ On my TV ♥♥

Nothing really. we are cutting back TV time. I am listening though to the MOM to MOM podcast

♥♥ On the menu ♥♥

Monday-Chicken Alfredo
Tuesday– Pizza Night (Family night)
Wednesday-Stuffed Pepper Soup
Thursday– Leftover Spaghetti
Friday -Sausage, peppers and potatoes in the crockpot
Saturday– Sloppy Joe Casserole (we kinda are making it up as we go)
Sunday-Loaded Baked Potatoes

♥♥ From the camera ♥♥

♥♥ Looking around the house ♥♥

Despite all the sickness over the last two weeks the house looks better than we started. Thanks to hubby for helping and the two non-sick kids for stepping up their helping game!!

♥♥ To do list ♥♥

DISINFECT EVERYTHING!!!!!!!!!!! And mop the floors.

♥♥ Today’s Devotional ♥♥

Today I’m reading Luke 22

For More Happy Homemaker Monday posts Check out Diary of a Stay at Home Mom

RESTORE!

Posted on February 27, 2022February 27, 2022 by Mary

When I began thinking and praying about what my word for 2022 was going to look like RESTORE was NOT on the list. Actually as I sit here typing I cannot for the life of me remember what was on the original list. YEAH they were THAT memorable lol!

I was praying though the words and none of them felt right at all. Then one day I was scrolling / tapping through my Instagram Stories and my friend Kalyn Brooke was asking her followers what they thought about the word RESTORE. I told her I loved it and asked if I could use it.

Why it struck such a cord

So much of my life is in a restoration phase.

We have an offer on a house that needed to be restored.
our home needs some restoration
my heart needed to be restored not just to where it once was but I want to move beyond that
and my prayer binder is littered with prayer requests for some form of restoration or another.

I just knew that was what this year was going to look like . I knew what lay ahead and RESTORATION was it.

AND I wasn’t wrong

The prayer list has grown longer….I have grown more and more aware of just how much my heart and mind need to be restored and renewed.

We are still hunting for a home which will probably have some form of “restoration” required.

Honestly I think that ever moment and every day and every month and every year should be marked by restoration.

As believer’s in Jesus we should be seeking to become more and more like Jesus and sometimes we get stuck wallowing in our pain and agony. We make excuses as to why we remain victims to our circumstances. We declare while beating our chests that we are survivors all the while making our circumstances our identity.

I don’t just want to be a SURVIVOR anymore….just surviving isn’t and option anymore. My goal ist to thrive. I want to be restored. I’m not hiding scars. I just don’t need to make them me. They are a part of me, BUT they don’t define me.

I am living breathing proof that God makes beauty from ashes and that my identity in found in him alone.

My verse for the Year

¹⁰In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation.

(1 Peter 5: 10 NLT)

Wow. What a promise!!!

And that firm foundation….I just wrote about that on my Happy Homemaker post on Monday.

You can check it out here

I couldn’t have planned that better!! When I started this blog post I hadn’t made the connection and yet isn’t THAT how God works!

How about what is Your One Word? Are you new to the whole One word for a year? Check out this book that helped me understand the concept My One Word This is not an affiliate link

Let me know what your word for the year is in the comments below! I can’t wait to share the growth and progress throughout the year with you!

Greetings: Happy Homemaker Monday

Posted on February 21, 2022February 21, 2022 by Mary

Greetings sweet friendsI know it has been a long while since we have last chatted! The last few months have been…..Interesting….to say the least. Nothing short of lessons in having patience and being seen.

It has been so amazing to know that in this beginning of our new seasons that God is answering prayers from over the last number of years. They are not how we planned for them to be answered and yet we have been seen…..AND HEARD. It doesn’t mean it hasn’t been hard. BUT even in the midst of what is hard GOD IS THERE. He sees me and He sees You.

So let’s jump into this weeks Happy Homemaker Monday!