Encouragement is oxygen to the soul....

Encouragement is oxygen to the soul. 

- George Matthew Adams

I've been reading this book mostly because I am 

vividly aware that death and life come in the form of words.

It is a fabulous read. 

I would recommend it for all woman seeking to use our words for good and not evil. 

"A word is dead when it is said, some say. 

I say it just begins to live that day."

- Emily Dickinson

"With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, 

who have been made in God's likeness. 

Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. 

My brothers and sisters, this should not be. 

Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? 

My brothers and sisters, 

can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? 

Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water." 

James 3:9-12

God has given us incredible power in our sphere of influence, 

and it begins with the words we speak. 

- Sharon Janynes in The Power of a Woman's Words

A careless word may kindle strife;

A cruel word may wreck a life. 

A bitter word may hate instill;

A brutal word may smite and kill.

A gracious word may smooth the way;

A joyous word may light the day.

A timely word may lessen stress;

A loving word may heal and bless.

-Author Unknown

That's just a few snippets on the topic of the tongue. 

I decided to pick this particular book up after using an ugly tone of voice with my 

son last week. (See previous post.) :-)

I was actually on the chapter about how much of a blessing that we can be to 

those around us with our words when I checked my email and

was pleasantly surprised to see an email from a former teacher!

(Hi...:-)

The words that she said were such a blessing. 

So refreshing. 

Such a GIFT. 

She said that she still prays for my family by name after 12 years - priceless!

The gift of words to encourage others was right there in front of me. 

Have you encouraged someone today? 

Would you take a challenge with me? 

1. Say an encouraging word to each close family member every day!
2. Write an email, card, e-card, fb message, etc to someone that you no longer see                              but still value once per week.

Let's be a blessing with our words!

"The Bible has a lot to say about our mouths, 

our lips, our tongues, for our speech betrays us. 

What is down in the well will come up in the bucket."

- Vance Havner 

The important things....

 Barbara Bush understood and spoke with an eye to the eternal 

when she told the women at Wellesley College, 

"Cherish your human connections, your relationships with family and friends...

those human connections with spouse, with children, with friends are the most 

important investment you will ever make. 

At the end of your life, you will never regret not passing one more test, winning one more verdict, or 

closing one more deal. 

You will regret time not spent with a husband, 

a child, a friend, or a parent." 

 Discerning what is eternal isn't easy; 

it is often camouflaged in the simple, ordinary things of life. 

The temporal is brassy and demanding and loud. 

It stands up and screams for our attention. 

But we have to train our eyes to see the eternal

in the unlikely events of everyday life. 

-Smart Women Keep It Simple

Annie Chapman

These pictures where taken last spring. 

Yesterday I celebrated another birthday. 

Next month my son will turn 9 years old. 

How does it go by sooooo fast!?

As I begin another year of my life, 

I want to really discover what every day holds. 

What little miracles.

What things I've missed along the way.

What gems are there for the taking but it may take a bit of chiseling to bring them out. 

How can my attitude improve to find the blessings in EVERYTHING?

These are questions that I long to answer this year. 

As I listened to Steve Jobs give a commencement speech back in 2005, 

it was a startling reminder that he had no idea he would only live another 6 years. 

He said that everyday he would ask himself in the mirror, 

"If today were your last day, is this what you'd want to be doing?"

And if he reply back "no" for too many consecutive days 

then he knew that he needed to make a change. 

Well, as a mom, wife, employee, etc. 

a change of the everyday circumstances is not usually accessible.

However, a change in my ATTITUDE and OUTLOOK of the day is totally

able to be changed. 

Praying that I can live this 33rd year of my life with 

a newfound grace to face each day as a 

GIFT!

Long Day....

Today was a good day....but also a LONG one. We started the morning off with a some down time but it turned into me catching up on things from work that had gotten left from Friday. I'm still playing catchup. :-( Then we had to head to the library and pay for a book that Sweetie accidently spilled her water on. Of course, it was a $40 book! But at least it was one that we like and the water damage is just along the bottom of the pages. It's called 20th Century Treasury of Children's Books and it's got 44 different stories. So I guess we paid a $1 per story....at least we got to keep the book. 

Then we were off to a birthday party for a family with 4 kids from church. It was chilly at first and I really didn't want to be outside for several hours, plus my brain was spinning with all the things that I still had to get done before Sunday. But I knew I couldn't be anywhere else so I just chatted with the other parents until it was time to hit the ground running for tomorrow. 

After the party, I had to go to Winco to buy peppers for the pepper eating contest. Which Winco on Saturday is not my favorite place to be. But the kids and I took it all in stride and just kept pluggin' away. We were there a long time cause I had to get regular groceries, things for church the next day, plus the stuff to make cookies with Reagan for a cookie contest the next day. 

Of which I totally messed up. Normally I just type in Award Winning Cookies in Google and pick one. But none of them looked good or were just too boring this year so I just started looking around and picked one. It's terrible! Oreo Creamcheese Cookies. They looked good; they sounded good; but they taste aweful! Josh actually spit his out and threw it away. I'm sad since Reagan was so excited about them, they cost way too much to make, and I've spend all night working on them with her (and a long time after she went to bed!). But such is life. 

Josh had to pretty much be at church all day. It started with a Men's Breakfast, then he had to fill the baptismal for tomorrow, then tonight him and his sister when watching all the church kids for a contest they lost. It was so the parents could go out on a date night and I will say that I was a bit envious that we didn't get to go on a date night since it seems like it's been forever....but I wouldn't have had time anyways! :-) 

I know this has been a downer for one of my posts....and for me in general. I'm just so tired and I'm trying to keep my perspective on what's really important lately. Today just felt a bit out of focus. I know that we all have those SUPER busy days that never seem to end....I just feel like because of ministry stuff we have a lot of them. Not that that's a bad thing, I just didn't used to mind that business as much as I do now. I just want to make sure that the things we are filling our lives with are for a purpose. Being busy for busy sake isn't anything to be proud of. 

Lord, help me know when to slow down and say "I just can't right now" and not be afraid that people won't think I'm nice. I long to please You and others and strangers....:-) but help me remember that pleasing You is first and because You have my best interest in mind You won't ask more that I can handle. Holy Spirit help guide me to a more balanced and gentle lifestyle. 

(I try very hard to stay positive...I almost don't want to post this....however, I also want to be real. And real is that today was a long day that seemed like I was doing a lot of STUFF for other people and didn't really get my stuff done and now I have to get up tomorrow and push, push, push to pull of Round Up Sunday. Which most people have no clue all the details that go into an event. My brain hasn't shut off all day about it. I feel like I haven't stopped working on it since 8 AM yesterday morning. I didn't even sleep good. Then I had to fit in a bday party in the middle of the day. And now I'm about to put this down and write out a list of about 10 things I have to do in the morning before prayer even starts at 8:30 AM. So with a humbled spirit that I'm allowing my exhaustion to speak through my fingers....I say goodnight and I'm an incredibly blessed girl who has an incredibly blessed life and loves the business most day....just not today. And that's just how it was today.) :-)