On Moms...

I have read so many great posts on motherhood over the past couple of days, and after this weekend, my heart is so incredibly full.  Sometimes in the midst of chaos, I think I can forget what a true blessing it is.  How lucky I am to have two sweet, healthy children.  How incredibly blessed I am to have a mom who is still around and lives nearby.  How wonderful it is to have married a man who has a great mom, too, as well as a grandmother that would probably let me move in if I wanted to.  I often take for granted the fact that I have two sisters whom I see often, who are not only awesome mothers, but such good aunties to my kids.  Then I have a sister-in-law who I miss dearly every single day, because she is my phone call when I need a good laugh... my niece (her daughter) does the cutest darn things.  I have some amazing aunties myself, and now being grown up and having nieces and nephews of my own, I so deeply appreciate them.  My husband works side-by-side with a woman who has such a great relationship with her two kids, both older than mine, and I look up to her tremendously.  One of my best friends has four (yes, FOUR!) and kept her sanity and did a great job with them even while her husband was deployed for a year.  Another new (but already incredibly close) friend here has FIVE... and will bend over backwards to do something for others.  I have friends from blogging, and even though I've never met their children, their pictures and stories make me feel like I just saw them yesterday, and I love "knowing" their kids and what kinds of moms they are.  I have moms in my life with one, two, three, four, and five kids.  I have moms with twins and moms with kids so close in age they might as well be!  I know moms who have lost a child and moms who have prayed fervently that their child would pull through sickness.  I have moms in my life who were not planning on being moms and some that went through great lengths to become one.  When I look back on my life, I have always been surrounded by some pretty phenomenal women, most of which were mothers to their own kids, but still showed so much love and kindness to me.  I think your heart expands in ways that cannot be explained when you become a mom.  Sure your belly grows, but it (somewhat) goes back to it's original size, but everyday I find that I have more love, more compassion, more care, more hurt, more empathy, and more to give of myself to others than ever before.  Motherhood is an amazing gift, not just because it gives us some pretty incredible kids to love on, but because of the ways it changes you.  I can't imagine my life right now without this gift, and I'm thankful for a weekend that allowed me to just stop for a minute, turn off the chaos, and just focus on how special it really is.  And to all of the special mamas in my life, I just want to thank you, too.  You have impacted me and help shape me as a mother everyday.  We're better together, and I'm blessed to be surrounded by some incredibly strong moms who make me want to become a better one.  Happy Mother's Day to you all!

Me and my Mama before my wedding

My mother-in-law snuggling with my Jake

My Nana... whom we miss dearly this year

MawMaw Brenda... kissing on her great grandson

Aunt B and Carol... aunties who love us like our own mothers.  Miss you, too, Aunt B!

Aunt Claudia - one of the strongest moms I know

Aunt Karen and her girls... one of my mama role-models for sure!

My sister Angie and her boys.

My other sister, Mindy, and sweet Adam

My sister-in-law, Ginny, and cutie-pie Baby Skye

Gretchen - our other pastor's wife and a rockstar mom

Cory and three of the five... how does she do it?

Kristen, who has been my friend since high school and our kids FINALLY got to meet a few weeks ago!

Abby: Mother of three (two of which are twins) and rock-star triathlete

My best blog-buddy... hoping to meet your kiddos this summer!

Chelsea loving on sweet Charley... the youngest of her four

There are SOOOO many others and I hope you know who you are, but finding and swiping Facebook and blog pictures took much longer than I thought!  :)  And I certainly hope you don't mind that I stole some sweet moments from you ladies!

And in other mom news... please check my sister's blog HERE for a little update from her.

Biggest Loser - Weeks 2 and 3

So did I mention that I ran a half marathon last weekend?

Um, yeah... that pretty much made me rationalize all of the junk I ate all week.  I love to run long distances, but I forgot that it turns me into a bottomless pit, something I need to work on if I sign up for more races this summer and fall.  Plus, my friend Cory had me make Amish friendship bread (basically she made me do it) and the two loaves were gone in about three days.  Yeah, it was THAT good... the Amish really know what they're doing.  But my main discovery this week is that weight loss is all about defeating the excuses.  As I strive to eat healthier, I realize that I can talk myself into having just about anything that's not good for me.  I ran a half marathon, so logically that allows me to have a free pass all week, right?  Or since it's Mother's Day this weekend I should be able to eat not just one, but three molten lava cakes that my husband made for me (oh yes he did... and they were super delicious!).  Or since I skipped dinner, I can have a second bowl of ice cream.  It's ridiculous, and something that I need to work on... do you have this problem, too?

On the upside, there are a few things that I have improved on as well.  For one, I don't stop every time I pass Starbucks.  To you this may not sound like much, but it's a huge accomplishment for me.  I can talk myself into a latte at all hours of the day and realized that I would get one even when I really didn't want it.  Sure, it still tasted good, but was the four dollars really worth it?  Since I work from home I don't drive by one all that often, which is probably why it used to be so appealing when I did, but just because it's a novelty doesn't mean I need to have it every time it's available.  It's all about choices and truly listening to your body.

So where did the scale end up?  Unfortunately I have been going the wrong direction, but it was only an 0.2 gain this week, probably due to the race.  A day after the weekly weigh-in I caught a little bug that Jake had been sick with and, well, I'm now down two... go figure.  So my goal for this week is to make better overall choices and fight that irrational part of my brain that makes all of those excuses.  Oh, and I may want to show my face again at the gym... I'm pretty sure my muscles have forgotten what they are supposed to do!

How was your week??

Reflections - Need

{This week's Reflections post is in response to the blog post "Need" by Going Beyond Ministries, which can be found HERE.}

My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?

These may just be some of the most famous words in the Bible.  Not only that, but when taken out of context, they are some of the most powerful words that anti-Christians try to use against us.  Wow, I'm getting heavy and it's only the third sentence!

As you might be familiar, as Jesus died on the cross, He shouted these words to the Father.  His Father.  Our Father.  Because as He suffered the most cruel death in history, the human side of Him- the side that felt pain, hurt, and emotions- felt abandoned.  He knew all along that this would be His fate... it had been prophesied for thousands of years before His existence, and He knew why (or rather for whom) He was dying.  It was  a hefty price to pay, and one that would change the world forever, but even Jesus had that moment of weakness- that moment of distrust.

No matter who you are or what your story, you have been through a dark time.  Who knows, maybe you are even going through one now.  Or maybe you feel like your life is one constant dark time and you can't find the way off of the hamster wheel.  And maybe, just maybe, you profess your faith in Christ but yet you feel like He's nowhere to be found.  This is totally not the direction that I was going to go with this today, but as soon as I sat down to type up my thoughts, my fingers started dancing across the keyboard.  Someone out there needs to read this today.  Someone out there is struggling, feels alone and abandoned, and desperately needs to hear that they are not alone.  And if you're feeling guilty about doubting that God will come through, know that you're not alone there either.  Jesus, our savior, had His moment of weakness, too.  But in God's timing, He was rescued, and you will be, too.  TRUST in Him during this time.  Have FAITH in Him during this time.  And even if you're not sure how to even pray to Him, just continue to remind yourself that you have no idea what the plan is or how this whole thing will turn out, you're putting it in His hands.  Hold your head high, square your shoulders, live by His word, and... well... wait.

Okay, so that's the part you didn't want to hear.  We live in a culture where we want it NOW.  We want the answer NOW.  We want the dark time to be over NOW.  And just because we're told to wait on God does not mean that we have to sit back and twiddle our thumbs.  God knows the answer, but He still expects you to do some work.  If you're greiving over the loss of something or someone (whether it be a death or the end of a relationship) He still expects you to take steps to start letting that person go.  It's just like in Joshua - even though He was told that He would win the battle, He still had to assemble an army and fight.  But I encourage you to always keep in mind that no matter what that fight is, God has it figured out.  Even in the end of these days, God will prevail... that's in there, too!

Like I said, this is not where I thought I was going to go with this today.  My challenge last week was for you to share a God-story... one of those when you thought all hope was lost and He came through.  I love those and could hear them all day.  So since I went off on a tangent, I'm just going to share a VERY quick one since I've already rambled on enough.  So... as you know, we decided last spring to move three states away and plant a church.  Our goal was to spend the summer living with my sister and scoping out locations and meeting people.  We still owned a house in Illinois and our focus was save, save, save.  Most of our spare income (and then some) was poured into this dream and we continued to tithe faithfully to a church that didn't yet exist.  And then in August, we bit the bullet and moved here full-time, which came with a hefty rent check.  Now I will be the first to say that I used to spend a lot of my time being concerned about money.  I lived at home for a long time, have always had a steady, well-paying job, and therefore have always had plenty to live on, plenty to spend on myself, and plenty left in a savings account just in case.  When I met Josh, he taught me about returning the tithe and I struggled at first with giving away 10%.  I did it out of due diligence and eventually it became routine.  And then in some weird way, it kind of became fun.  And then over time, I literally itched if it was the second day of the month and that check hadn't written.  Giving God my first fruits is now a way of life, and then on top of that, we started giving abundantly and generously.  We were always smart and paid our bills and provided for our family, but giving became (and still is) a big part of our life.  So the old me would have completely panicked about the decision to have a mortgage and a rental house.  Oh, did I mention that this was happening on one income?  Yeah, Josh quit his job before we moved here... it was the only way it would work out for us.  And then on top of that, I knew that maternity leave was in the very near future and I'd be going on about 12 weeks with very little pay.  We saved during that summer with my sister like never before, but once that maternity leave time hit, things did start getting tight.  We cut back even farther, but continued to pay on both houses.  And still, I did not freak out.  We continued to tithe and even budgeted enough to buy some pretty nice Christmas presents for our families, and still I did not panic.  It was weird, but I think it was truly the first time in my entire life that I told God that I knew He had this.  I knew He'd provide (but like I mentioned above, we were putting in the work while we waited).  January rolled around and I paid the mortgage.  We had budgeted to get us to this point and it was the very last mortgage payment that we had saved for.  In many ways, I couldn't believe that we had made it that far, and a small part of me started to doubt, just a little.  Our house hadn't shown in months and had been on the market since the previous May.  My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?  I had my moments of that... of course I did... I'm human!  But then I'd turn right back around and give it back to Him.  God, you've got this... I know you do.  And then out of the blue came a call from our realtor.  He asked me if we'd be willing to do a rent to own contract.  Josh and I knew nothing about how that worked but immediately said yes!  My hopes were up until he told me that the couple who wanted to know hadn't even seen the house.  We weren't in the clear yet.  Plus, it was already mid-month, so chances were we'd be scrounging to find that February payment.  But then, another call came, this time to discuss the contract.  Say what??  Really??  And.... guess when they wanted to move in?  Yep.... February 1st!  Since it was a rent-to-own we didn't have to wait until closing and could arrange that.  In fact, becuase it was a rent-to-own we officially don't even close until January 2014, which is crazy when you thimk about it.  But yet, they'll be paying us rent and we'll still be putting equity into the house.  The purchase price has been set, so we'll come out ahead even in this market.  One of my favorite sayings is "always be amazed, but never be surprised."  Yes, I was amazed- am still amazed.  God, I knew you had this one... and He did.  He just made me wait until the very last minute... just to make sure I meant it!  He's always there you know, but maybe He's just waiting for the very last minute, just to make sure you mean it, too!

Okay, so that wasn't as short as I thought it would be (but it never is with me).  I'm just going to leave you with one last nugget and then I'll shush for the day, deal?  I read this today and thought it was perfect to share:

If you made it this far, thank you.  As always, Brittany posted about the same topic and let me just tell you, she totally blew me away this week.  "Push Hard and Pedal" is something I'm going to have to start chanting to myself through hard times... I loved it!

Please share with us if you posted on this topic, too.  We don't receive too much feedback on these Reflections posts, but I hope you're getting as much out of them as we are from writing them.  Blogging with Brittany every Thursday has been something that I look forward to week after week, and we'd love to have more in our little club.  Leave a comment or link up if you want to join us.

Brit picked the topic for next week and I am totally pumped about it.  She picked a message by Holly Furtick, who is basically like the mecca of all pastor's wives.  Yeah, she's a superstar and someone I really admire... her blog is pretty wonderful, too.  Here's what Brittany has chosen for us:

{As for next week, I'd like to listen to a message from Holly Furtick.  Her husband is Pastor Steven Furtick of Elevation Church in Charlotte, NC.  She opened up there current series called "Waiting Room" with an UNBELIEVABLY TIMELY MESSAGE!!  You can listen and watch at this link below...

http://www.elevationchurch.org/sermons/waitingroom/part1}

Love you all... thanks for reading!

Mama's Month - the Essential Diaper Bag

To diaper bag or not to diaper bag... that is the question.  When I was pregnant with Jake, I can remember being really excited about the idea of a new diaper bag.  I have always loved purses and handbags and have a pretty decent collection, and to me this just sounded like an excuse to add to the stockpile.  Knowing that I would be carrying it everyday, I wanted something that looked more like a purse and less like a baby bag, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that many of them do!  But while my indecisive self searched and searched, my sweet husband surprised me with this that Christmas:

He has great taste, doesn't he?  It is a great bag, very deep, and those two side pockets ended up being perfect to hold bottles.  Plus, it is big enough to hold anything and everything, including a swaddle blanket, which is what I use as a nursing cover-up.  My pump even fits in here, too!  But because all of this stuff fit, I will say that things often got lost in the abyss.  As much as I love this bad, it's like a big, black hole when you're trying to find your wallet, key, etc.  And the inside is also black, which doesn't help.  So before Lilly came along I went on the hunt again... two kids equals more stuff, which also means more to dig through.

As my search continued, I got yet another bag as a gift!  Yes, I have great friends.  Or perhaps my friends and family just know all to well that I can't make a decision.  So before Lil came along, this came in the mail for me (although it says "Lilly" on it):

Much like the first, this one is nice and roomy, too, and fits everything and anything.  It's thick, sturdy canvas, white on the inside (a plus!), and has multiple pockets on the inside.  Somehow, however, I still managed to lose everything in this bag.  Plus, I still wanted something that looked a little more like a purse; something I could carry to church, to the park, to the mall, or on a date.  So after months and months of having this on my bookmark list, I finally bit the bullet and bought myself a present:

Behold, the Timi & Leslie Dawn tote.  Ain't she a beaut?  I debated for a long time about this bag because of it's price tag, but let me tell you, buying an actual baby bag as opposed to making a regular bag into a baby bag is worth every penny.  A woman definitely designed this thing.  It has light-colored water-resistant interior, multiple pockets inside and out, and it comes with accessories: a small matching clutch for your wallet and phone, an insulted bottle holder, a changing pad, a messenger (cross-body) strap, and stroller straps.  Plus, the whole top zips shut and keeps Jake's tiny hands out of there.  I never knew how much I would love having a cross-body strap until I used one, and now I will never go back.  I've heard of people liking backpacks for the same reason as it is so much easier to juggle kids without a bag falling off your arm.  And the stroller straps?  Well, I finally got around to using them last week and, well, they are amazing.  My one complaint is that I've had a quality issue with one of the pieces of hardware, but that could be due to the heavy load I put in this thing.  But like I said, worth every penny.  If you're searching for a diaper bag, here are my suggestions (and this one has them all):

• Looks like a purse and not a diaper bag - check
• Lots of pockets - check - PLUS a key clip and additional accessories
• Light-colored interior - check
• Big enough for 2 kids' stuff but not huge and bulky - check
• Zip closure to keep everything in - check

I rarely spend money on myself any more, but I felt like this one was deserved.  If I'm going to carry around everyone's stuff, I might as well look good while doing it, right?  And I get a ton of compliments.  People are always surprised when I tell them it's a diaper bag!  Mommy-gear has come a long way!


So do share... what's your diaper bag of choice?

Race Season!

A few weeks ago we officially kicked off "Race Season" with the Keeneland Half Marathon Relay (which you can read about here).  Racing used to be a huge part of Josh's and my lives, particularly at the point in our lives when we met.  I was much more into running than he was, but he started signing up for races with me so that we could spend some more time together.  His passion has always been cycling, so as his running increased, so did his interest in triathlons.  And then we had kids... and putting in the time and commitment to train for these things got a little more difficult!

 To say that we're excited to be back in the swing of things is an understatement.  With all of our focus going into our family and our church plant over these past few years, it's nice to get back to doing things just for us- the things we love most.  And there are very few things that I love more than a race day.  When we're missing on a weekend (although we're back for church on Sunday of course!) chances are you can find one of us up ridiculously early and out on a course somewhere.  

Like two weeks ago... Josh ran the Music City Marathon in Nashville and the babies and I cheered him on.

 It was a ridiculously hot and sunny morning, the course was hilly, and he rocked it!  I love watching him race almost as much as I love racing myself.  Almost.

 And then this past weekend I went up to Cincinatti and ran the Flying Pig Half Marathon with my group of Florida girls, which made for an awesome reunion weekend- complete, of course, with tutus!

I had a friend comment the following day that we're all crazy.  She said that she would never understand why a person would want to get up crazy early and willingly run long distances, particularly since we're not being chased by something.  And although I couldn't explain it at that moment, I do know that there are countless reasons why I love these events.

I started off this particular race with the girls.  I love to encourage people.  I love to motivate.  And I love to have side-by-side conversations.  Sometimes I can hash out my biggest problems or frustrations with a running partner.  It's like therapy.

Around mile 5 we cruised through downtown Cincinnati.  The streets were lined with people and I thrive on that.  I love seeing the faces and hearing the cheers from spectators.  I love the little kids who get excited that you high-five them.  I love reading the signs- the ones that will make you laugh and the ones that will make you cry.  And I love being near someone when they see someone they know along the way and it totally changes them from feeling like they can't do it to knowing that they can.

After that span, I felt pretty good and ended up pulling ahead.  I put in my headphones and just ran for awhile, my brain completely thoughtless.  My body moved mechanically, because it has done this a thousand times before, and I just ran on autopilot.  I love being "in the zone."  I love that God created us with bodies that can move like this and accomplish anything that we're willing to put in the work for.  

Then, I started to break down.  We went uphill for a ridiculously long time.  In fact, they say it's the equivalent climb of a 41-story building... so yes, maybe that part was a little crazy.  And as I took my very first walk-break, my brain started telling me that I couldn't do it.  That I was hot.  And my feet and back hurt.  That my lungs could not keep up with the oxygen support.  That I could fake an injury and not finish or lie and say I waited in a really long port-a-potty line, which made my time so slow.  And do you want to know why I love the breakdown?  Because at some point, I stare it all down in the face, put one foot in front of the other, and start running again.  And whether it's thirty minutes or three minutes before I start walking again, I ultimately overcome those thoughts.  And at the end of the day, I cross a finish line.

We joke a lot that I do this for the "bling," as I do love the shiny medal at the end, but it's so much more than that.  For me, it's uninterrupted time with my thoughts.  It's listening to praise music and lifting my hands in the air to the God who created me, even though I know I look like an insane person to anybody watching.  It's thinking about my babies, and how proud they would be of me for finishing.  I think about how I want to stay young and healthy enough for them to be around for a long, long time.  I reflect on my marriage, on how much I love my husband, and the ups and downs of things.  This past weekend came with some trials for us, but after mulling over a lot of it on the race course, I knew that there would be goodness that came from the struggle we encountered.  I knew that running out my frustrations would put me in a calm place to talk about our feelings and better understand one another in the long run (which has already happened actually).  I think about my Aunt Barbara, whom we lost a few years ago to cancer, and how she would have loved to have been running this race with us.  I think about ways that I can do more in this world, serve others better, reach out farther, and make a difference and an impact.  The open road has always been kind to me.  My best ideas find me there, my solutions to life's problems meet me there, and my most fervent prayers are said and heard there.  It's a special place and one that I miss when I'm away from it, an old friend that never lets me down.  So it's okay with me if you think I'm crazy because the truth is, I know that I would actually go crazy without it.  In fact, I may or may not have already been online looking for the next race... because I know that it will be amazing no matter what the clock says at the finish line.

We have quite a bit on the summer calendar already... feel free to join us if you'd like:

May 12th 

- [Josh] Olympic Triathlon (Taylorsville, KY)

June 23rd 

- Warrior Dash (Elizabethtown, KY)

July 7th 

- [Josh] Half Ironman (Muncie, IN)

August 11th 

- Midsummer's Night Run 5K (Lexington, KY)

- [Jake] Fastest Kid in Town (Lexington, KY) - this should go better than last year!

August 26th 

- [Josh] Ironman (Louisville, KY) - can't wait for this!

I am sure some 5K's and 10K's will be added throughout the summer, but I'm so excited to see these events on my calendar again.  Let me know if you'll be at any of these or if there is something out there that we shouldn't miss!

I know I didn't do a Biggest Loser post this week, but as you can see, I did work out and am still moving in the right direction!  And don't forget that the first Mama's Month post will be up tomorrow!  I hope you post, too! 

Reflections - Rahab

Did you get a chance to read Rahab's story last week?  Pretty incredible, huh?  If you didn't, then in a nutshell it's the story of a prostitute who helps two spies hide out in her city.  They are there to scope out the city for an attack and in exchange she asks them for protection for herself and her family.  That's the very condensed version, but can you imagine?  Would you put your trust in two total strangers (spies no less) and be able to convince your family to hide out in a room that's built into the temple wall and then wait out an attack, fully trusting that God will come to your rescue through these men?  Most of us would probably either flee or tell some sort of government official and have these two men captured!  And did you catch that first part, about her being a prostitute?  Yeah, if you think the Bible is boring then you're apparently missing a lot of these stories.  I'm not sure why Hollywood writers don't just look here for ideas... it is just full of interesting characters and amazing tales of adventure and suspense.  What a rich history!

But I digress...

Like I said, she was a prostitute, and through her faith she helped Joshua lead a very successful attack into the promised land.  And because of her faith, the temple walls fell and her little room was spared.  She tied a red cord that hung out her window and that part of the wall was unharmed.  Her family was rescued, as promised, and she went on to live amongst the conquerers.  So what's the point?  Well, I don't know about you, but if I had to guess who God would use to help carry out a dangerous mission, I'm not sure I'd guess that He'd choose a prostitute.  Now I am not one to judge and I know a lot of these women don't actually choose this profession and are trapped in an awful situation (more on that another day), but most of us think that God would use, well, some sort of reverent, perfect person to carry out His will, right?  Surely He'd use someone who had hardly ever sinned, lived a close-to-perfect life, to do great things.  But God is smarter than we are.

I'm not sure if you realize this, but none of us are perfect (gasp!).  I think part of the reason I love this story so much is because even though Rahab knew her current situation, she did not doubt for a minute that God would be willing to use her to do great things.   I think a lot of us sometimes doubt our own usefulness.  We think, "God, I've screwed up too much, why would you want me?" or "I don't know enough about the Bible and Your word, so I couldn't possibly help... let me learn some more and then I'll be ready."  But the truth is, no matter how much knowledge you have or what kind of Christian you think You are, God can move through you in mighty ways.  Rahab lived in a culture that did not even worship the same God, but rather multiple idols, and yet she still knew deep down that He was powerful enough to use her to accomplish His mission.  God is just waiting on you to be open to it, to trust in Him fully, to admit that although you might not feel "perfect" or "ready," that you're still willing to be used as a vessel for Him.  Many of the greatest stories in our history were carried out by people who were far less than perfect- Moses was a murderer, did you know that?  Paul, who wrote most of the New Testament (yes, all of that good stuff!) was once the cruelest persecutor of Christians, killing and torturing many.  Noah... well, he got off the boat when it was all said and done, got drunk and passed out naked in his tent.  We don't always read to the end and focus on the full story, and even though God always knows the full story, He does not pass over anybody.  He knows our potential, He knows His plans, and He wants to use us... what an honor, right?

I was originally going to use this opportunity to update you all on our church plant (since this topic is so fitting for that), but this is already getting a bit long so I'll do a separate post on that very soon.  My challenge to you this week, however, is to open yourself up to the idea that YOU can be used in mighty ways for God, if you just allow Him to use you.  Josh often says, "Find the thing that ticks you off and you'll probably find the thing that makes you tick" meaning, if there is something that breaks your heart in this world, that might be the cause that is worth looking into being a part of.   You don't have to start your own ministry or charity, as there are so many great ones already out there.  Maybe it's just serving at your church and making others feel welcome (because you once felt like an outsider at church) or working in the kids' ministry to ensure that the next generation is learning about God (because you have kids that you care about or did not grow up with God).  Or maybe it's going on a mission trip, considering adoption, or even just donating money each month to an organization that is working to cure a problem that rips your heart out.  Take the first step, and when you open the door, I think you'll find that God has even bigger plans for you than you ever thought possible... that you are just taking the first step and opening a door to even greater things. Whether you believe it or not, YOU ARE A WORLD CHANGER... never forget that.

As always, you can read Brittany's post here, or link up below if you wrote one.  I know that we rarely get a link-up, but I will always continue to leave it open in the chance that God moves you to post on one of these topics.  And for those of you who have participated without leaving your link below (you know who you are), that's okay, too, and I have really loved reading your thoughts... thank you for sharing your hearts.

Brittany is in the middle of a move to Colorado right now (and really stepping out to trust God on this one... how appropriate!), so I am picking the topic again this week.  And because I know that Brittany loves her some Priscilla Shirer, I am taking a post from Priscilla's blog (titled "Need") for this week's topic:

http://www.goingbeyond.com/blog/need

The best way to honor God is to celebrate and share those times that He came through for you.  My challenge is for you to read through this beautiful post and then reflect on a dark time when you thought God wasn't hearing your prayers.  Then share how He ultimately did come through, in true God fashion, even though it wasn't what or how- or even when!- you expected.  His plans are always the best ones and there are no such things as coincidences... only His plans, which are always good.  I love a good God story... I hope you'll share one with us next week.

As always, thanks for reading.  Have a great rest of the week!

Mama's Month

Can you believe it's May already?  Sheesh!  Time flies even faster when you have multiple kids I think.  We're going to have to stop making them if it speeds up this exponentially with each one!  But as I flipped the calendar to May 1st this morning I was reminded that this is Mama's Month... and Mother's Day is right around the corner.  As I mentioned last week, I thought it might be fun to do some mom-related posts with some of my blogging friends to compare notes.  I love when bloggers post on the same topic because I find reading the different opinions, advice, etc. to be so interesting in how they are the same and how they are different.  Soooo... I thought that I'd dedicate Tuesday in May to all things mom-related... join up if you want!  Here are my planned topics:

8th - The Essential Diaper Bag - I had such a hard time picking one and have been through 3, so this I find interesting.  What does yours have to have?  What do you carry?  Do you like it or do you wish you had something different?  This post will run before Mother's Day, so it could be a perfect opportunity to drop a hint or two!

15th - Your Top 5 Favorite Baby Gear Items...what can't you live without (or you could, but these things make life soooo much easier!) and your Top 5 Wastes of Money.  Yes, it's hard to narrow it down to 5, but that's what makes it interesting.

22nd - Maternity Leave Survival Guide... what helped keep your sanity?  What advice would you give to other new moms?  How did you handle visitors and out of town company?  And how did you prepare and cope with going back to work?

29th - The Best Part(s) About Being a Mom.  I figure we need one sappy-post opportunity.  I know we could all write on this one for days, but with such a broad subject, it could make for some really great reading.

If you've already done a similar post in the past, feel free to link that particular post to mine, even if it was written awhile ago.  I hope you'll join me in this since this by far is my favorite topic.  Plus, we could help out new moms and future moms in the process!  Can't wait to hear about it next week!